Columbia University cancels main commencement after protests that roiled campus for weeks

Columbia University says it is canceling its ample university-wide commencement ceremonial amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests but volition clasp smaller school-based ceremonies this week and next

NEW YORK -- Columbia University is canceling its ample university-wide commencement ceremonial amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests but volition clasp smaller school-based ceremonies this week and next, the assemblage announced Monday.

“Based connected feedback from our students, we person decided to absorption attraction connected our Class Days and school-level graduation ceremonies, wherever students are honored individually alongside their peers, and to forego the university-wide ceremonial that is scheduled for May 15,” officials astatine the Ivy League schoolhouse successful precocious Manhattan said successful a statement.

Noting that the past fewer weeks person been “incredibly difficult” for the community, the schoolhouse said successful its announcement that it made the determination aft discussions with students. “Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are astir meaningful to them and their families,” officials said. “They are anxious to transverse the signifier to applause and household pridefulness and perceive from their school’s invited impermanent speakers.”

Most of the ceremonies that had been scheduled for the southbound tract of the main campus, wherever encampments were taken down past week, volition instrumentality spot astir 5 miles northbound astatine Columbia’s sports complex, officials said.

Columbia had already canceled in-person classes. More than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped retired connected Columbia’s greenish were arrested past month, and akin encampments sprouted up astatine universities astir the state arsenic schools struggled with wherever to gully the enactment betwixt allowing escaped look portion maintaining harmless and inclusive campuses.

The University of Southern California earlier canceled its main graduation ceremonial portion allowing different commencement activities to continue. Students abandoned their campy astatine USC aboriginal Sunday aft being surrounded by constabulary and threatened with arrest.

The protests stem from the struggle that started Oct. 7 erstwhile Hamas militants attacked confederate Israel, sidesplitting astir 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking astir 250 hostages. Vowing to destruct Hamas, Israel launched an violative successful Gaza that has killed much than 34,500 Palestinians, astir two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry successful the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli strikes person devastated the enclave and displaced astir of its inhabitants.