U of A student groups ask audience to boo commencement speaker

The groups, including FORCE (Feminists Organized to Resist Create and Empower), Students for Socialism, Women and Gender Resource Center and Pride Alliance, also put out a call to action statement on social media.

They’re asking commencement attendees to “turn their backs to the stage” when Schmidt comes on “and/or boo to make it clear that the University of Arizona and greater community that we represent, whether from Tucson or beyond, do not support abusers being platformed.”

Michelle Ritter, Schmidt’s former girlfriend and business partner, filed a lawsuit against him in November 2025, alleging sexual assault and harassment. His attorney, Patricia Glaser, has called the claims ”false and defamatory.”

The lawsuit was sent to arbitration in March by a Los Angeles judge, the LA Times reported. Ritter had argued that a 2022 federal law entitled her to have her case heard in open court, but Superior Court Judge Michael Small ruled the law did not apply because a financial settlement Ritter and Schmidt signed in December 2024 was entered into after the alleged sexual wrongdoing, not before.

A spokesperson for Schmidt declined to comment to the Star about the student groups’ demand that his UA speech be canceled.

Francisco Burke, an undergraduate employee with UA’s Women and Gender Resource Center, said  graduation attendees “should just know who the university has decided to have speak on this occasion.”

“The biggest issue here is they are platforming an abuser. And not only are they platforming an abuser, they are putting him on stage for commencement/graduation, where (according to) statistics that show gender-based violence on college campuses, there will be thousands of survivors in that crowd and there will be survivors that we know of on that stage,” said Burke.

UA’s commencement ceremony is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 15, at Casino Del Sol Stadium, formerly Arizona Stadium.

UA student groups also circulated a petition, which had more than 1,260 signatures as of Wednesday, seeking the cancellation of Schmidt’s speech. The petition was addressed to UA President Garimella and other university administrators.

Burke said Garimella or the UA administration at large hadn’t responded to their concerns, the petition or a press conference they held about the issue on May 4. He said they’ve been “radio silent.”

“They’re trying to do what they always do,” Burke said, where they think “‘if we ignore it, it will just go away.’ ... And it’s like, if you have not learned at this point, students will hold you accountable.”

UA spokesperson Mitch Zak, asked about the student concerns, said last week: “We invited Eric Schmidt to deliver the commencement address in recognition of his extraordinary leadership and global contributions in technology, innovation and scientific advancement. He helped lead Google’s rise into one of the world’s most influential technology companies and continues to advance research and discovery through major philanthropic and scientific initiatives, including partnerships that support important work at the University of Arizona.”