Columbia cancels main graduation rite in wake of protests
NEW YORK—Columbia University on Monday canceled its main graduation ceremony after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests roiled the Ivy League college’s campus, but it will still hold smaller, school-based events.
“Holding a large commencement ceremony on our campus presented security concerns that unfortunately proved insurmountable,” said Columbia spokesperson Ben Chang. “Like our students, we are deeply disappointed with this outcome.”
Graduation had been scheduled for May 15.
Chang said the university had sought an alternative venue but was unable to find one that could accommodate the students, families, and guests in attendance, who normally exceed 50,000.
The protests at Columbia, which drew national attention, have inspired similar demonstrations at dozens of universities around the country.
Students have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and have demanded their schools divest from companies with ties to Israel.
As protests gathered steam at US colleges, some universities, including Columbia, called in riot police wielding batons and flash-bang grenades to disperse and arrest hundreds of protesters, citing a paramount need for campus safety. Civil rights groups have decried such tactics as unnecessarily violent infringements on free speech.
The turmoil on campuses has prompted colleges across the United States to relocate, modify or cancel commencement ceremonies altogether.
The University of Southern California also called off its main-stage ceremony, one week after canceling the valedictorian speech by a Muslim student who said she was silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred.
Columbia said on Monday it had consulted with student leaders in deciding how to handle graduation.
The majority of the smaller ceremonies, which had been set to take place on its upper Manhattan campus, where most of the protests have taken place, will take place at the main athletic complex about 5 miles (8 kilometers) away. —REUTERS
