NEW YORK — In a surprising turn of events, Columbia University announced on Monday that it has decided to cancel its primary graduation ceremony. This decision comes after weeks of intense pro-Palestinian protests that have significantly disrupted the Ivy League institution’s campus. However, the university will continue to host smaller, school-specific graduation events.
“The decision to cancel the large-scale commencement ceremony on our campus was driven by security concerns that, regrettably, we could not overcome,” stated Columbia spokesman Ben Chang. “We share our students’ deep disappointment with this outcome.” The graduation was originally planned for May 15.
Chang further explained that the university had explored alternative venues but was unable to find a suitable location that could comfortably accommodate the students, their families, and guests, who usually number over 50,000.
The protests at Columbia, which have garnered national attention, have sparked similar demonstrations at numerous universities across the U.S. Students are calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and demanding that their schools divest from companies associated with Israel.
On Monday, Hamas announced its agreement to a cease-fire proposal with Israel in Gaza. However, Israel described it as a “softened” Egyptian proposal that was not acceptable to them.
During the ongoing 7-month conflict, over 34,600 Palestinians have lost their lives due to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, as per health officials in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave. The conflict began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, resulting in about 1,200 deaths and the abduction of 252 individuals, 133 of whom are believed to still be held captive in Gaza, according to Israeli reports.
As the protests gained momentum at U.S. colleges, some institutions, including Columbia, resorted to calling in riot police armed with batons and flash-bang grenades to disperse and arrest hundreds of protesters, citing the utmost need for campus safety. Civil rights groups have criticized such tactics as unnecessary violent infringements on free speech.
The unrest on campuses has led colleges across the United States to relocate, modify, or cancel commencement ceremonies altogether.
In April, the University of Southern California also canceled its main-stage ceremony, just one week after canceling the valedictorian speech by a Muslim student who claimed she was silenced by anti-Palestinian sentiment.
Columbia announced on Monday that it had consulted with student leaders in deciding how to handle graduation. The majority of the smaller ceremonies, which were initially set to take place on its upper Manhattan campus, where most of the protests have occurred, will now take place at the main athletic complex about five miles away.
The demonstrations have become a political flashpoint during a contentious U.S. election year as Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former U.S President Donald Trump face off in a rematch for the White House.
Rally for Israel, Jewish students
Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, who previously criticized Columbia’s administrators for being too lenient on demonstrators during a campus visit in April, lambasted them again on Monday. He stated that the decision to cancel commencement denied thousands of graduates the recognition they deserved.
Johnson also urged the school’s board of trustees to remove university President Nemat Minouche Shafik, arguing that the cancellation demonstrated she would rather “cede control to Hamas supporters than restore order.”
An Israel advocacy group, the Israeli-American Council, planned a rally to support Jewish, Israeli-American, and Israeli students on Monday evening near Columbia’s campus. They described the campus protests as ”anti-Israel and antisemitic.”
Last week, New York City police cleared a Columbia building that had been barricaded by pro-Palestinian protesters, arresting more than 100 people in and around the campus and dismantling an encampment.
Other U.S. universities have continued grappling this week with how to clear their campuses of protesters.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge near Boston warned protesters on Monday that if they did not vacate an encampment by 2:30 p.m. EDT, they would face immediate suspension, barring them from participating in any academic activities for the rest of the semester.
“No matter how peaceful the students’ behavior may be, unilaterally taking over a central portion of our campus … and precluding use by other members of our community is not right,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement.
At nearby Harvard University, interim President Alan Garber announced on Monday that protesters who continued participating in a two-week-old encampment would be referred for “involuntary leave,” meaning they may not be able to sit for exams, reside in Harvard housing or be on campus until reinstated.
“As we begin our extensive preparations for Commencement, this ongoing violation of our policies becomes more consequential,” said Garber, citing reports from some students that the camp disrupted their ability to sleep, study and move freely about the campus.
At the University of California, Los Angeles, where pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protesters clashed last week and where police arrested more than 200 people while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment on Thursday, Chancellor Gene Block on Sunday announced a new Office of Campus Safety.
Disagree with this decision #letthegraduationgoon
Agree: Understandable decision given current circumstances.
Good punctuation and grammar, agree:
It’s disappointing that the graduation ceremony had to be called off, but the safety and well-being of everyone involved is the top priority.