{"id":327145,"date":"2026-05-22T02:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T02:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/327145\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T02:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T02:13:09","slug":"chapman-drops-students-commencement-speech-cites-review-of-campus-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/327145\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapman drops student’s commencement speech, cites review of campus group"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In line with tradition, Student Government Assn. President Cintya Felix Mendivil readied a speech for Chapman University\u2019 commencement ceremony. She even arranged for family members to travel from Mexico to watch her deliver the remarks during graduation.<\/p>\n

Felix Mendivil, a double major in political science and Spanish, served as the first Latina elected SGA president in the university\u2019s history \u2014 and had a lot to say. Following past presidents\u2019 practices, she emailed her speech draft to administrators earlier this month, but did not get an immediate response.<\/p>\n

On May 15, just a week before graduation exercises, Felix Mendivil learned by an email that senior administrators decided to scrap her speech from the commencement program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t been given an adequate reason why I\u2019m being censored or punished, given that I did no wrong,\u201d Felix Mendivil said. \u201cThe only difference I see between my predecessors and me is that they were white and I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob Hitchcock, a university spokesperson, did not point to the speech\u2019s content or Felix Mendivil being Latina, but rather a conduct review of SGA that began in March as reason for the cancellation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile on frozen status, SGA is not permitted to hold events or conduct official organizational business, including participation in ceremonial or other official university functions,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a result, the SGA president was not invited to speak at commencement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hitchcock did not specify what prompted the university\u2019s review, but added that it will consider restoring the group to good standing if the concerns and complaints lodged are resolved.<\/p>\n

The Panther, Chapman\u2019s student newspaper, reported in March that the freeze came after an election controversy<\/a> where allegations ranged from disregarding university protocol in running the election to holding hearings on discrimination and harassment without standing. <\/p>\n

Felix Mendivil did not feel at liberty to speak on the conduct review of the group and only shared that administrators have not interviewed her as part of the process.<\/p>\n

It was too late this week to await a resolution for the student\u2019s speech planned for Friday\u2019s commencement ceremony at the Holly and David Wilson Field, a kickoff to a graduation weekend for more than 2,700 students. <\/p>\n

\"Cintya <\/p>\n

Cintya Felix Mendivil spoke at a convocation earlier in the school year but was not invited to give a traditional student commencement speech.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Cintya Felix Mendivil)<\/p>\n

Chapman alumni Matt and Ross Duffer, the brother duo behind the Netflix hit Stranger Things, remained on the program as Friday night\u2019s keynote speakers. But Felix Mendivil felt devastated by her exclusion, especially as she turned down offers from USC and UCLA to attend Chapman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been treated unfairly and I\u2019m hurt,\u201d Felix Mendivil said. \u201cThis has been an ongoing investigation. It just feels like they were waiting me out to graduate, because I tended to be a very active advocate for students. I don\u2019t think that was very welcomed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She responded by posting the speech<\/a> in its entirety online.<\/p>\n

In planned remarks, Felix Mendivil thanked her mother for the sacrifices she made and called on fellow graduates to be change agents in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cStay informed,\u201d she wrote. \u201cRead books. Vote. Direct your money and energy to causes you are passionate about. Use your skills and creativity to expand opportunity and humanity for others. To improve the quality of life for others, to protect the earth, to end pointless wars and to lead with integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The speech struck another political note, albeit briefly, when calling out Indigenous land theft and genocide as well as quoting the late Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis.<\/p>\n

Felix Mendivil described the online response to her speech as overwhelmingly positive with a few negative detractors.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a small concession for a commencement ceremony that did not go as planned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI should have had my replacement elected and I would have been an outgoing president who is no longer in their role in student government,\u201d she said. \u201cHad the university thought about this in advance, I would have been notified a long time ago. They didn\u2019t do their due diligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students, faculty and community members responded more broadly by organizing an alternative \u201cStudents\u2019 Commencement,\u201d with Felix Mendivil\u2019s scuttled speech on the program, at the First Presbyterian Church of Orange the same night. <\/p>\n

Even though Felix Mendivil\u2019s time at the university did not end smoothly, she plans to forge ahead with higher education by enrolling in law school in the fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am the type of person who will lead with integrity and build a career that will uplift voices,\u201d Felix Mendivil said. \u201cFor me to stay quiet is just incongruent with who I am and my principles.\u201d<\/p>\n