Columbia University students on Monday shared their disappointment at their school's decision to cancel its main graduation ceremony after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests.

Ann Arbor

Columbia University has announced the cancellation of its main graduation ceremony, previously scheduled for next week, amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests, leading to widespread disappointment among students. The decision stems from security concerns associated with the anticipated gathering of over 50,000 attendees. Despite the cancellation, the university has planned to conduct smaller school-based ceremonies at a different location five miles off the campus.

Following Columbia's announcement, a pro-Israel demonstration took place on the university grounds, with approximately 200 participants rallying in support of Jewish, Israeli-American, and Israeli students. These students claim to have experienced harassment, intimidation, or violence during the wave of pro-Palestinian protests that have been occurring on campuses across the New York area. The protests, which have been a fixture at various U.S. universities for weeks, have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from Israel. In response to these protests, Columbia University and other universities have resorted to utilizing riot police equipped with batons and flashbang grenades to disperse crowds and make arrests.

Students expressed their frustration and sadness over the decision to cancel the graduation ceremony. One senior student highlighted the personal impact of having now missed two significant graduation milestones - the first due to COVID-19 related cancellations and now, their college graduation. Others shared skepticism regarding the university's rationale for the cancellation, pointing to a lack of visible preparation or movement on campus since the clearance of the protest encampments.

In addition to Columbia University, other institutions such as the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California have faced challenges related to commencement ceremonies amidst the backdrop of protests. The University of Michigan witnessed over 300 faculty, staff, and alumni sign a protest letter against the requirement for commencement volunteers to receive training to stop hecklers. Meanwhile, the University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation following backlash over a mid-April decision to omit the valedictorian speech of Muslim student Azna Tabassum due to safety concerns and passions surrounding the war in Gaza.



Anger after graduation cancelled amid protests

A day after Columbia University said it would cancel next week's commencement due to protests, a crowd was again massing on school grounds. This time, it was a pro-Israel demonstration. Around 200 people rallied on Tuesday in support of Jewish, Israeli-American and Israeli students they say face harassment, intimidation or violence amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests on New York area campuses. Students on campuses across the U.S. have protested for weeks, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment from Israel. And some universities, including Columbia, called in riot police with batons and flashbang grenades to disperse and arrest them. The school said it cancelled its graduation ceremony because there'd be insurmountable security concerns with over 50,000 attendees and said it was deeply disappointed, but that it would still hold smaller school-based ceremonies at another complex five miles off campus. One student told Reuters this was the second time he'd been robbed of an in-person graduation. I think it's deeply saddening, and honestly, I'm very angry. You know, I'm a senior, and for my high school graduation, that was cancelled too because of COVID. So now you come to this next milestone in your life, and you don't get to celebrate that either. So it's just kind of back-to-back. It's really frustrating and saddening that I haven't been able to experience a full graduation normally. Others were unconvinced with the school's rationale for cancelling. The encampment has been cleared for a significant amount of time now, and they've made no moves on increasing the amount of preparations they have on campus. So I think we all kind of saw it coming, but it's just insane to really see it happen and just shows how bad faith their negotiations have been the whole time. Other U.S. universities have struggled to contain disruption to their commencements. Over 300 University of Michigan faculty, staff and alumni signed a protest letter against their school, requiring commencement volunteers to undergo training to stop hecklers. Some staff balked at being asked to quell, quote, people trying to express free speech. University of Southern California called off its main stage graduation last week. It came after outcry over a decision in mid-April to scrub the valedictorian speech by Muslim student Azna Tabassum. Senior leadership said that was due to safety concerns and passions around the war in Gaza.

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