At least three Morehouse graduates could be seen in photos with their backs turned, according to an X post by a pro-Trump super PAC. One of them wore a keffiyeh scarf to signify solidarity with Palestinians.

The press pool traveling with Biden acknowledged seeing one student who stood at the back of the ceremony with his back turned and his right fist raised. According to the pool, a “few” graduates and faculty staff were wearing keffiyeh scarves.

While Biden called Hamas’s attack on Israel on October “vicious,” and mentioned “hostages” from the attack, he focused more on the “humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” called for an “immediate ceasefire,” and told students their “voices should be heard,” in reference to the pro-Palestinian protests breaking out at college campuses.

Biden also touched on issues of voting rights during his speech, sentiments he echoed in a later speech to the NAACP in Detroit.