Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Columbia University Cancels Main Commencement After Weeks of Pro-Palestinian Protests
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 months ago on
May 6, 2024

Columbia University cancels its main commencement ceremony due to ongoing pro-Palestinian protests, opting for smaller, school-based ceremonies instead. (AP File)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — Columbia University canceled its large university-wide commencement ceremony Monday following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled its campus and others across the U.S., but said students will still be able to celebrate at a series of smaller, school-based ceremonies this week and next.

Universities Grapple with Commencement Decisions

The decision comes as universities around the country are wrangling with how to handle commencements. Another campus shaken by protests, Emory University, announced Monday that it would move its commencement from its campus quadrangle in Atlanta to a suburban arena. But others, including the University of Michigan, Indiana University and Northeastern, have pulled off ceremonies with few disruptions.

Columbia’s decision to cancel its main ceremonies scheduled for May 15 saves its president, Nemat Shafik, from having to deliver a commencement address in the same part of campus where police dismantled a protest encampment last week.

Noting that the past few weeks have been “incredibly difficult” for the community, the Ivy League school in upper Manhattan said in its announcement that it made the decision after discussions with students.

“Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families,” officials said. “They are eager to cross the stage to applause and family pride and hear from their school’s invited guest speakers.”

Changes in Ceremony Locations and Speakers

Most of the ceremonies that had been scheduled for the south lawn of the main campus, where encampments were taken down last week, will take place about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north at Columbia’s sports complex, officials said.

Speakers at some of Columbia’s still-scheduled graduation ceremonies include Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames, former CNN anchor Poppy Harlow, political scientist Ian Bremmer and Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Institutes of Health. Also, actor Michael J. Fox is scheduled to receive a medal from Columbia’s Teachers College for distinguished service.

Columbia had already canceled in-person classes. More than 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia’s green or occupied an academic building were arrested in recent weeks, and similar encampments sprouted up at universities around the country as schools struggled with where to draw the line between allowing free expression while maintaining safe and inclusive campuses.

The University of Southern California earlier canceled its main graduation ceremony while allowing other commencement activities to continue. Students abandoned their camp at USC early Sunday after being surrounded by police and threatened with arrest.

Other universities have held their graduation ceremonies with beefed-up security. The University of Michigan’s ceremony was interrupted by chanting a few times Saturday, while in Boston on Sunday, some students waved small Palestinian or Israeli flags as Northeastern University held its commencement in Fenway Park.

Protests and Their Origins

The protests stem from the conflict that started Oct. 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking roughly 250 hostages. The student protesters are calling on their schools to divest from companies that do business with Israel or otherwise contribute to the war effort.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli strikes have devastated the enclave and displaced most of its inhabitants.

Emory’s 16,000-student university is one of many that has seen repeated protests over the war.

Ceremonies scheduled for May 13 will now be held at the GasSouth Arena and Convocation Center in Duluth, almost 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of the university’s Atlanta campus, President Gregory Fenves said in an open letter.

“Please know that this decision was not taken lightly,” Fenves wrote. “It was made in close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisors and other agencies — each of which advised against holding commencement events on our campuses.”

The university called outside police agencies to arrest 28 people after an encampment was erected on the quad on April 25. After initially claiming the protesters were outsiders, the university later said 20 were Emory students and three were faculty members. Police used pepper balls and electric stun guns to subdue some of the people who were arrested. Fenves later apologized.

Protests have continued on the campus since then, including some additional arrests.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

DON'T MISS

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

DON'T MISS

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

DON'T MISS

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

DON'T MISS

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

DON'T MISS

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

DON'T MISS

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

DON'T MISS

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

UP NEXT

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

UP NEXT

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

UP NEXT

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

UP NEXT

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

UP NEXT

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

UP NEXT

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

UP NEXT

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

UP NEXT

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

9 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

9 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

9 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

9 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

10 hours ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

10 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

10 hours ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

10 hours ago

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

11 hours ago

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

11 hours ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

A driver suspected of being under the influence crashed into a California Highway Patrol car early Sunday, officials said. Officers were inv...

6 hours ago

A driver suspected of DUI crashed into a parked California Highway Patrol car at a fatal crash scene in Fresno County, sustaining minor injuries and later being cited. (Fresno County SO)
6 hours ago

CHP Car Struck by Drunk Driver While Investigating Another Crash

fresno
7 hours ago

Fresno Man Ejected From Car Dies Off McKinley Avenue

7 hours ago

‘Leave It the Way It Is’: Off-Roaders, Hikers React to Proposal to Change 1.4M Acres of Sierra Forest

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in New York. (AP/Ashley Landis)
9 hours ago

Yankees Retain Cole, Add $36 Million Extension to Keep Ace

Voters cast their ballots at Desert Breeze Community Center in Las Vegas during the last day of in-person early voting in Nevada on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Nearly 75 million people have cast early ballots, making their voices heard amid worry about the process, the outcome and democracy itself. (Bridget Bennett/The New York Times)
9 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

9 hours ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

9 hours ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

10 hours ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

Search

Send this to a friend