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More than 100 students staged a walkout during Stanford University's graduation ceremony shortly after Google CEO Sundar Pichai began delivering the commencement address.
According to a report by The Jerusalem Post, the demonstration took place at Stanford Stadium on Sunday, moments after Pichai took the stage as the invited keynote speaker.
Videos shared on social media showed graduates leaving their seats and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans, including "Free, free Palestine," as they marched out of the venue.
The protest was organized by student groups, including Students for Justice in Palestine and No Tech for Apartheid.
Activists stated that the demonstration targeted Google's involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud-computing contract shared with Amazon and the Israeli government.
The contract has drawn intense scrutiny from students, tech workers, and activists opposed to Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Pichai, a Stanford alumnus who earned a master's degree in materials science and engineering from the institution in 1995, proceeded with his speech despite the disruption.
His address largely avoided the artificial intelligence debate that has led to the booing of other technology executives at recent university commencement events.
Instead, Pichai focused on broad themes of optimism, hard choices, and personal resilience, urging graduates to pursue work that excites them.
The demonstration unfolded in front of nearly 6,000 degree recipients, faculty members, and guests.
While the vast majority of the audience remained seated, many of the departing students later assembled under oak trees elsewhere on campus to hold an alternative "People's Commencement" featuring banners and guest speakers.
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This walkout follows more than a year of continuous campus activism regarding the war in Gaza and demands for divestment.
Previous actions included a hunger strike and a sit-in at the administrative offices that resulted in 13 arrests. Neither Stanford University nor Google provided immediate comments regarding the demonstration.
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