A plane with an anti-Elon Musk banner flew over Stanford University's graduation ceremony multiple times as students protested several actions of the current administration.
Did an anti-Elon banner fly over Stanford's graduation?
In a photo shared on the subreddit r/Fauxmoi, a plane circled the stadium filled with soon-to-be Stanford graduates. A banner behind the plane read, "Congrats! Don't work for Elon."
Stanford's location in Silicon Valley made it a popular choice for students looking to break into Big Tech.
As the plane flew overhead, a group of students staged a walkout to an "alternative commencement," according to the Stanford Daily. These students participated in a "People's Commencement" to protest what they said is Stanford's "complicity" in genocide and greed.
They also said the university "cower[ed] to the federal administration," which Musk was heavily involved in for several months after the inauguration.
"We walked out in protest of the University’s complicity, in support of Palestine," one student told the school's newspaper. Twelve former and current Stanford students were arrested and charged with felony vandalism after occupying buildings on campus during a pro-Palestine protest in 2024.
How did social media react to the banner?
Redditors praised the person behind the "Don't work for Elon" banner.
"Now this is what I call money well spent!" one said.
"It's a message we can all get behind," another wrote.
"Whoever did this, I love you," a third added.
"Elon 100% cried after seeing this," a fourth joked.
Others said they hope students will consider the message.
"I hope that at least someone there is open to that message. But I very much doubt they paid their tuition to let their salary to be decided by morals. Thousands of highly educated people work for him and have no issues with that," a commenter wrote.
One wrote that they don't expect many students to work for Musk's company, Tesla. "Tesla actually has lower than avg pay in tech industry so it’s never really that hot," they explained.
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