Columbia University Cancels Large Commencement Ceremony Amid Ongoing Pro-Palestinian Protests

New York, (Date) - Columbia University has announced the cancellation of its large university-wide commencement ceremony in response to ongoing pro-Palestinian protests. Instead, the university will be holding smaller school-based ceremonies over the next week.

In a statement released on Monday, officials at Columbia University explained that they had decided to focus attention on Class Days and school-level graduation ceremonies. The decision came after discussions with students, who emphasized the meaningfulness of these smaller-scale celebrations where students are honored individually alongside their peers.

The university acknowledged that the past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for the community and that the students and their families are eager to participate in the school-based celebrations, where they can cross the stage to applause and family pride.

Updates on Ceremony Locations

Most of the ceremonies that were initially scheduled for the south lawn of the main campus will now take place about 5 miles north at Columbia’s sports complex.

The protests stem from the conflict that began on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, resulting in civilian casualties and hostages. In response, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza, leading to a significant number of Palestinian casualties, including women and children, and the displacement of many inhabitants.

Similar protests have been observed at other universities, with the University of Southern California also canceling its main graduation ceremony while allowing other commencement activities to continue. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at USC abandoned their camp after being surrounded by police and threatened with arrest.