Musician and activist Evelyn Harris returned her honorary degree from Smith College after it was revealed that she plagiarized much of her commencement ceremony speech.

According to Smith College president Sarah Willie-LeBreton, Harris “borrowed much of her speech” without “typical attribution” and decided to give up her degree.

“Ms. Harris was forthcoming about her choices while also acknowledging that she sought to infuse the words of others with her own emotional valence,” Willie-LeBreton said in a statement. “With appreciation for the requirement of academic integrity so central to the values of Smith, Ms. Harris has chosen to relinquish her honorary degree.”

“I appreciate those who brought the dissonance of this moment to our attention and am very grateful for the graciousness of Evelyn Harris’s decision,” Willie-LeBreton wrote.

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Two of Harris’ bandmates in the cover band Young@Heart defended her actions in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, claiming that “plagiarism works a little differently for us.”

“We sing lyrics and play music written by others without explicitly crediting them from the stage, without asking their permission, but often getting the original artist’s enthusiastic response when they eventually hear our version,” Bob Cilman and Julia van IJken wrote. “We imagine Evelyn may have been doing something similar in her speech and was honoring the words of others.”

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Cilman and Julia van IJken accuse Smith College of attempting to humiliate Harris, as does another of Harris’ acquaintances and Smith College alumna.

“I personally know Evelyn not only submitted her speech for approval to Smith College weeks in advance and received an edited version back from them in tacit and overt approval for her to give that speech,” Tolley M. Jones wrote in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

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“Smith College hastily, with a singular goal toward shuffling unwanted negative publicity away from itself, chose to deliberately humiliate Evelyn by telling the world that she violated Smith’s academic standards by borrowing some of the words of others to encourage the new graduates to live their lives authentically.”

Harris is a longtime musician who spent 18 years as a member of Sweet Honey In The Rock, an African-American, female a cappella group founded in 1973 and nominated for three Grammy Awards. She “weaves political activism with harmony and fosters community through song, finding ways to address racism, misogyny, and other forms of discrimination with expressions of joy, hallelujah praising, and spiritual testimony,” according to Smith College.

The college added that it will distribute a new version of the highlights from the May 18 commencement ceremony, given the situation with Harris.

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President Joe Biden’s 17th assistant secretary for health, Rachel Levine, also received an honorary degree from Smith College. Levine is a transgender four-star admiral who was accused of promoting “transgender extremist policies” and “mutilating surgeries for minors,” according to Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Trump administration would implement new visa restrictions targeting foreigners “complicit” in censoring Americans.

“Even as we take action to reject censorship at home, we see troubling instances of foreign governments and foreign officials picking up the slack,” Rubio stated. “In some instances, foreign officials have taken flagrant censorship actions against U.S. tech companies and U.S. citizens and residents when they have no authority to do so.”

“Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States,” he continued. “It is unacceptable for foreign officials to issue or threaten arrest warrants on U.S. citizens or U.S. residents for social media posts on American platforms while physically present on U.S. soil.  It is similarly unacceptable for foreign officials to demand that American tech platforms adopt global content moderation policies or engage in censorship activity that reaches beyond their authority and into the United States.  We will not tolerate encroachments upon American sovereignty, especially when such encroachments undermine the exercise of our fundamental right to free speech.”

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“Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of traveling to our country,” Rubio wrote on X. “Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over.”

Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of traveling to our country. Whether in Latin America, Europe, or elsewhere, the days of passive treatment for those who work to undermine the rights of Americans are over.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 28, 2025

On Tuesday, Rubio issued a cable to U.S. embassies and consulates stating that the State Department would temporarily stop interviews abroad with foreign citizens applying for student and exchange visas. “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consular sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor (F, M, and J) visa appointment capacity until further guidance is issued septel (separate telegram) which we anticipate in the coming days,” the cable stated, per POLITICO.