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After a tumultuous few weeks on campus, Columbia University changed its graduation plans, canceling its main ceremony to instead focus on several school-specific celebrations.
New York City Agency Officials Monday's announcement said that based on student feedback, it would prioritize school days and school-level events “where students are honored individually alongside their peers” rather than a university-wide event scheduled for May 15.
“Our students emphasized that these small, school-based celebrations were the most meaningful to them and their families.” “They want to walk across the stage to feel applause and family pride, and they want to hear the school’s guest speakers speak. As a result, we will focus our resources on keeping school events safe, respectful and smooth.”
As part of that effort, the university is moving events originally scheduled to be held on the South Lawn. There, protesters held signs and camped out in tents for two weeks, demanding an end to the war in Gaza and university investment in Israel. , until police cleared the campus last Wednesday.
The event will be moved to the Baker Athletics Complex, Columbia's premier outdoor sports venue. The event runs May 10-16 and tickets are required. Columbia College is scheduled to hold an opening ceremony on the morning of May 14, followed by Barnard College the next day.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik previously called for a New York Police Department presence on campus until at least May 17 “to maintain order and ensure that encampments are not re-established.”
She sent a letter to the NYPD on April 30 when police arrived to remove pro-Palestinian protesters who had occupied a campus building. It was the second time that month that Shafik called in city police to quell protests on campus.
Police disbanded the 'Gaza Solidarity encampment' and arrested more than 100 people on April 18, the day after it was first established. Protesters regrouped and formed another encampment that continued to grow even as administrators negotiated a demolition agreement with student activists.
On April 29, after negotiations broke down, Columbia began suspending students who failed to heed warnings to leave the encampment by 2 p.m. The next day, dozens of students began occupying Hamilton Hall. This reflected the school's 1968 protests, which resulted in barricades being erected inside. .
Universities that had already moved to hybrid learning for the remainder of the semester were essentially shut down. Police entered Hamilton Hall and arrested 112 protesters. New York City officials said last weekend that 29% of them had no connection to the school.
Shafik maintains the support of Columbia's board of directors but has faced widespread criticism and calls for his resignation from both sides of the aisle over his handling of the protests.
Officials acknowledged Monday that “the past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for our community.”
And they said they were continuing to solicit feedback from students on the possibility of a “festive event to replace the larger formal event on May 15.”
Columbia is the second major university to cancel some commencement ceremonies. The University of Southern California announced in late April that it would cancel its main commencement ceremony, sparking considerable backlash in the days after canceling the valedictorian's address due to security concerns.
Other schools are also holding graduation ceremonies as planned, but expect protests to occur during the day, something some schools are already experiencing. Over the weekend, students and faculty at Indiana University held an alternative graduation ceremony, and dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters briefly disrupted a commencement ceremony at the University of Michigan by waving flags and banners.