New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering recently shared a celebratory video showcasing graduating students announcing their job offers in the tech industry. While intended to highlight the hard work and achievements of the students, the clip instead became the target of xenophobic and racist remarks — particularly aimed at Indian students.
Graduation Joy Turns into Target for Hate
The video, filmed during the NYU Tandon graduation, had an interviewer asking several graduates about their post college plans. Many proudly said they had jobs at top tech companies like Google, Amazon and Apple. One woman said she was going to be a software engineer at Google, another said she had a job at Amazon’s Seattle office. Their nationalities were never mentioned but several commenters online assumed from their looks and accents that many were South Asian, especially Indian.
‘All the Indians are from India…’ — Racist Comments Emerge
Following these assumptions, the comment section turned hostile. One user wrote, “All the Indians are from India with accents not American born and they’re taking jobs away from American born graduates.”
Another added, “Why is America educating its enemies? I’ve heard that they also get scholarships and aid. What are we doing here?” A third said, “All of them must be sent back. We must reclaim our universities for Americans.”
Some remarks targeted India directly. One comment read, “Just a group of people that have been tired and hopeless living in a dirty country INDIA find a university and job in US.” Others criticized U.S. universities for supposedly prioritizing foreign students over domestic ones.
Calls for Reflection on Diversity and Education
While the hate comments were spreading, many were also defending the students, saying international graduates contribute so much to the US economy and innovation. Diversity in education advocates said success in global universities should be celebrated not used as a basis for discrimination. NYU hasn’t commented yet. But the video is still online and reactions are divided between admiration for the students and resentment towards the competition in the job market.