Content warning: This article contains mentions of sexual harassment.  

In a Feb. 12 email to the Brandeis community, University President Arthur Levine ’70 announced that Sheryl Sandberg will be this year’s undergraduate commencement speaker, as well as an honorary degree recipient. In the weeks that followed, many members of the Brandeis community, including alumni, students and faculty, expressed concern over Sandberg’s qualifications and character as the University’s choice of example and leadership for its graduates. On March 23, Nora Herndon-Lazerwith ’26 and Elena Giacoletti ’26 started circulating a petition calling for the removal of Sandberg as commencement speaker that has garnered 116 signatures as of press time. 

Sandberg, who Levine described as a “philanthropist, author, filmmaker and former technology executive” in his email, has been notably controversial for a number of scandals during her time as the Chief Operating Officer of Meta from 2008 to 2022, including the reportedly “unfeminist” atmosphere at Facebook under Sandberg alleged by former employee Sarah Wynn-Williams in her book “Careless People,” which details her experience among executives at Facebook. Additionally, Sandberg’s book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” has been critiqued by feminist scholars such as bell hooks for neglecting to address issues of race and class. 

Herndon-Lazerwith, who had previously published an op-ed in The Justice stating why she feels Sandberg is an “inappropriate choice to provide advice and encouragement to the class of 2026,” and Giacoletti had conceived of the petition together to act on their disappointment with the decision. A few weeks after President Levine’s announcement, Herndon-Lazerwith and Giacoletti asked themselves, “What could we do about this? Is there anything we can do?” and the petition was born. The response from students was swift and passionate, and within a week of the petition’s circulation, it had amassed over 80 signatures. “I think [students] were really happy to find that other people felt the same way [about Sandberg] and that this was a fairly easy way for them to be able to express that,” Giacoletti shared in an April 16 interview with The Justice. “Obviously, we're all students and we're all really busy, and it's difficult to find the time or the energy when you're frustrated and tired,” so the petition was an easy way for people to make themselves heard, Giacoletti continued. The petition has been signed by a combination of Brandeis students, faculty and alumni. 

Some members of the Brandeis community see the University’s invitation to Sandberg as a plea for donations from the billionaire. “I understand that part of their job is to cater towards new students and potential donees, but there are students here too, and we're already paying and living here, and I think that the time that I've been here, I've really felt that the students who are currently here have mattered the least to the administration,” Giacoletti said. Alumna Laura Limonic ’97, who previously wrote a Letter to the Editor describing her concerns with Sandberg, remembered a different Brandeis in a Feb. 24 interview with The Justice: “There was a lot of emphasis on being on the right side of history. Brandeis didn't play the numbers game.” 

Herndon-Lazerwith was already familiar with Sandberg and her career before she was introduced as commencement speaker. “Her various moral failings come up rather quickly when you Google her. They're not hard to find, hidden or disputed — most of them — and it was pretty clear to me … what this was, which was a pick by the administration in service of their attempt to change Brandeis from a liberal arts institution into like a white collar vocational school, as I said in my op-ed,” said Herndon-Lazerwith in an April 16 interview with The Justice. Herndon-Lazerwith sees the University’s emphasis on Sandberg’s success as a businesswoman and her career in the technology sector as a draw away from its core in the humanities and liberal arts. The petition statement indicates this sentiment reading, “In the last few months Brandeis has begun unveiling its new marketing campaign which heavily focuses on technology, business, and career-readiness. Sandberg is clearly a commencement speaker chosen to reflect this new Brandeis. But the Class of 2026 did not come to Brandeis for its micro-credential program or new mottos. We came here to receive a well rounded and interdisciplinary education from a school that valued all of its departments, from the humanities to STEM.”

Facebook’s involvement in numerous controversies in the past few years, many of which occurred during Sandberg’s tenure, bolstered the idea that the University is focused on donations as opposed to the commencement speaker’s career and relevance to the graduating class. Facebook has been implicated in the genocide of the Rohingya people in 2017, according to a report from Amnesty International. The report states that “Facebook owner Meta’s dangerous algorithms and reckless pursuit of profit substantially contributed to the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya people.” The company’s algorithms, which created an echo chamber where hate against the Rohingya people spread online, made profit for Facebook. “The display of inflammatory content — including that which advocates hatred, constituting incitement to violence, hostility and discrimination — is an effective way of keeping people on the platform longer,” reported Amnesty International. 

In 2018, Facebook faced another significant scandal when it was revealed that 50 million Facebook profiles were harvested by Cambridge Analytica in order to predict voter choices and send people targeted political advertisements. Cambridge Analytica, owned by billionaire Robert Mercer and led at the time by President Donald Trump’s advisor Steve Bannon, took this information from Facebook without authorization. According to The Guardian, Facebook knew about this data breach in 2015 but failed to alert its users and took “limited steps to recover and secure the private information of more than 50 million individuals.” Sandberg presided as a key figurehead of Facebook during both of these scandals. “I cannot imagine how Brandeis could consider honoring a leader in what some would call crimes against humanity overseas and election interference in our country,” said Prof. John Plotz (ENG) in an April 18 statement to The Justice.

Sarah Wynn-Williams, Facebook’s former director of global public policy, published her memoir, “Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism” in 2025. The memoir discussed Wynn-Williams’ time at Facebook and is “an insider account of a company that she says was run by status-hungry and self-absorbed leaders, who chafed at the burdens of responsibility and became ever more feckless, even as Facebook became a vector for disinformation campaigns and cozied up to authoritarian regimes,” according to The New York Times. Wynn-Williams also described how her initial awe of Sandberg dissipated after she realized her “lean in” philosophy was a cover for the obedience she demanded in the workplace and described a particular moment when, on a 12-hour private jet together, “Sandberg claim[ed] the only bed on the plane and repeatedly demand[ed] that Wynn-Williams ‘come to bed.’” The memoir also implies that Wynn-Williams was fired after reporting instances of sexual harassment from her boss, Joel Kaplan, who at the time was a vice president for global public policy.

Sandberg has also been critiqued for her book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” which advises women on how to succeed in the workplace and encourages them to “lean in” to their careers, make space for themselves and “sit at the table.” bell hooks critiqued the book as having reinforced structural norms that especially impact women of color. “It almost seems as if Sandberg sees women’s lack of perseverance as more the problem than systemic inequality. Sandberg effectively uses her race and class power and privilege to promote a narrow definition of feminism that obscures and undermines visionary feminist concerns,” bell hooks wrote in an article published by The Feminist Wire. 

“My mom was definitely in the corporate world in that era where [Sandberg] was promoting ‘Lean In’ really heavily. … It's not helping women in the workplace. … [It’s] frustrating to me, for the school to pick her and represent her as this sort of corporate girlboss [feminist],” Giacoletti shared.

According to a March 5 statement to The Justice from the administration, Sandberg is a choice “who reflect[s] the values of our community and will inspire our graduates and their families.” The statement continued, “our undergraduate speaker is widely known as a trailblazer for women in business and a brilliant economist. The degree she will receive honors the total body of her work and contribution to society.” So far, the administration has not made any additional statement to the student body despite concerns raised by students. Herndon-Lazerwith sees some hesitation to speak out against the University from peers as, in part, related to the administration’s response to pro-Palestine protests on campus in fall 2023. “When I wrote my op-ed, I did feel that I was kind of sticking my neck out to show my fellow seniors that the Brandeis administration was not about to start revoking degrees or threatening disciplinary action over this,” she said. “My class had such a terrible experience with the way that the Brandeis administration repressed free speech on this campus in 202[3] [so] a lot of my class is very hesitant to take any action or speak up.” 

Herndon-Lazerwith referenced the fall 2023 pro-Palestine campus protests. During one protest on Nov. 10, 2023  students gathered to protest the administration’s support of Israel and the derecognition of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Brandeis. The demonstration resulted in seven arrests, three of whom were Brandeis students and four of which were unaffiliated with the University. “I know from talking to [students] how many … still are shaped by that day [Nov. 10] and even believe as a result that speaking out on campus is impermissible. That breaks my heart,” stated Prof. Plotz. These protests and the endorsement of commencement speakers more broadly have been the subject of many conversations about free speech on campus. 

This year’s commencement ceremony isn’t the first to have students protest an honorary degree recipient. In 2014, the University announced Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “a campaigner for women’s rights and a fierce critic of Islam,” according to The New York Times, among its honorary degree recipients for that year. Among a litany of other statements about Islam, Hirsi Ali has described the religion as “a destructive, nihilistic cult of death.” Eight days after the announcement, the University rescinded their offer to Hirsi Ali, stating that “We cannot overlook that certain of her past statements are inconsistent with Brandeis University’s core values.” The University said they regretted being unaware of Hirsi Ali’s past statements, despite many of these being widely publicized. 

Universities are responsible for distinguishing between promoting free speech on campus and directly endorsing someone via awarding them an honorary degree. According to Brandeis’ Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression — and the statement from the administration — “the granting of honorary degrees, in which an invitation issued by the university does constitute an endorsement of some major aspect of their life or work.” Thus, the University establishes that “A protest against the university for making a disfavored choice for a prestigious honor is not, in itself, an attack on free speech.”

Herndon-Lazerwith implores students, “I understand that this is scary, and I understand that many people who might otherwise have strong feelings about Sheryl Sandberg have … already checked out. But I think this really matters.” She continued, “this should be a moment where we can feel good [about our time at Brandeis] and inviting Sheryl Sandberg is just totally … antithetical to the things that many of us came to Brandeis for, and feel that we have been able to take away from Brandeis. And I think that people should be upset that this is what we're getting upon our departure from this institution.”

On Sunday, April 19, the Student Union passed Senate Resolution 4 which calls “on the administration to rescind the offer of an honorary degree to the 2026 commencement speaker, Sheryl Sandberg.” Senator At-Large, Luke Farberman ’27, wrote in an April 20 statement to The Justice that “Despite not being a Senior, I chose to sponsor this resolution because I believe it is unconscionable to allow Sheryl Sandberg to represent not just this year’s graduating class, who deserve far better, but the entire institution as a whole. The message sent by the administration in turning a blind eye to Sandberg’s controversies is demeaning to the student body and harmful to our institution’s reputation.”

To the Brandeis community, Giacoletti says, “we don't have to sit here and be silently unhappy with the choices that [Brandeis is] making. We are the school. We make the school. Brandeis wouldn't exist without us and we deserve to have a voice and a say in these things.”

 —Editor's Note: Justice Associate Editor Joan Cogliano ’26, Deputy Editor Grace Doh ’26, Forum Editor Esther Balaban ’26 and Associate Editor Elizabeth Liu ’26 signed the petition mentioned in this article. They did not contribute to or edit this article.