In the Fall 2025 semester, Hofstra University rolled out a new initiative that placed Artificial Intelligence (AI) front and center on campus. Among these changes was the introduction of AI as a key part of Hofstra’s graduation ceremony. During the December 2025 Commencement Ceremony, AI was used in place of human speakers to read out students’ names. This change was met with widespread backlash from students, with many lobbying against it, expressing a strong preference for human readers. Students lobbied with the Student Government Association, and one student even created a petition against the AI voice that currently sits at 627 signatures.
Despite all the pushback, the school isn’t budging. As of this article’s writing, the school has not announced any plans to return to the use of human readers, instead preferring the usage of Tassel, an AI-driven platform. Tassel is a platform that helps schools optimize graduation with Hofstra seemingly adopting it going forward.
As quoted directly from Tassel’s website: “AI handles most names smoothly, while our voice artists step in for those that need extra care, keeping the ceremony personal and consistent. Through AI utilization, we’ve made this service accessible to more schools, so every student can hear their name said right on their big day.” Hofstra has taken the reading of students’ names out of their own hands, instead choosing to outsource it entirely.
For a student like me, this change is a slap in the face. For me, graduation day is special. It has taken me six years to get my undergraduate degree, and I had to go through a lot to get here. I have transferred schools, changed my major four times, battled health issues and much more. I am the first of my siblings to get a bachelor’s degree. Graduation was meant to celebrate my accomplishments with those in my community who have been with me for the past four years. Instead, my name will be read by either an AI voice or recorded by someone at Tassel whom I have never met. A ceremony that was meant to be an intimate moment of accomplishment has been turned impersonal in the blink of an eye.
Hofstra said the change to AI was made to ensure that all students’ names are pronounced properly at graduation. Many students, however, including myself, have found that the AI that the school has adopted is incapable of this task.
When I signed up for graduation this fall, I was asked to input my name, and every single time the AI was unable to get my name correct. I do not have a name that is complicated or difficult to pronounce; my last name is “Silver.” Yet, the AI continuously got the inflection wrong. Upon asking other students, I found that I was not alone in my struggles.
“It worked for me, but at least two of my friends couldn’t get the AI to read it right no matter what, so clearly it’s not very useful, and the fact that they’re pretending that it works is a little short-sighted,” said Mick Crayn, a senior anthropology and English double major.
When it comes to the complaints from students about the use of AI at graduation, many of us simply feel unheard. The administration remains rather vague about what is happening at graduation. The concerns that I and other students have are very real: Is AI still being used? How will my name be presented at graduation if the AI gets it wrong? Will there be an option for a human to read my name instead of AI? All of these were questions that I presented to the school, expecting a very simple answer. Instead, I was left with more questions and less answers.
