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Did Norway evacuate a student from Harvard ahead of commencement? What we know
Just ahead of Harvard's commencement on Thursday, a rumor spread on social media about Norway evacuating a student from the university due to ‘safety concerns’
Just ahead of Harvard's commencement on Thursday, a rumor spread on social media about Norway evacuating a student from the university due to ‘safety concerns’. The claim went viral, but was soon debunked. This comes after an X user shared a screenshot of a Threads post making the allegation, calling it ‘hauntingly symbolic’.
“Meanwhile at Harvard…Norway has evacuated a student from Harvard,” one person wrote on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. The X post had amassed more than 800,000 views as of this writing.
"Norway just evacuated a student from Harvard—not a war zone, but an American university. As someone who now resides in Sweden, I find it hauntingly symbolic. The "land of the free" was never truly free—just expertly packaged. When Nordic countries start extracting their citizens from Ivy League campuses for safety, it's not just a red flag. It's a siren," the post on Threads read.
Where did the rumor begin?
The rumor began with a May 23, 2025, report by Khrono, a Norwegian higher education news outlet, stating that the Aker Scholarship, a foundation sponsoring Norwegian students for advanced degrees abroad, had called one of its students from Harvard.
The unidentified student, as per the report, arrived in Oslo on May 23, 2025. Bjørn Blindheim, CEO of Aker Scholarship, cited concerns over the student’s visa status after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced on May 22, 2025, that Harvard’s SEVP certification was terminated.
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Why was the Norwegian student ‘evacuated’?
The evacuation was a preemptive action by Aker Scholarship due to visa uncertainties, not safety threats. Blindheim told Khrono he called an emergency meeting on May 22, fearing the student could face detention or legal issues if Harvard’s SEVP status wasn’t restored.
The DHS directive, announced without prior notice, advised international students to transfer or face visa revocation. Aker opted to fly the student back immediately, landing in Oslo on May 23, 2025.
Blindheim expressed worry that the situation “could get out of control,” referring to legal risks, not campus safety.
