Columbia University cancels main commencement ceremony after Gaza protests
Al Jazeera
Announcement comes days after New York police raided and dispersed Gaza solidarity encampment on Columbia campus.
Columbia University has cancelled its university-wide commencement ceremony after it cracked down on student protests in support of Palestinians, a campus movement that spurred a wave of similar demonstrations around the world.
In a statement on Monday morning, Columbia said it would prioritise “Class Days and school-level ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside their peers, rather than the University-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15”.
“Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families,” it said.
The decision comes just days after the Columbia administration called New York City police onto campus to disperse students who had occupied a school building and erected a protest encampment to show solidarity with Palestinians.
The students have demanded an end to Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip and urged Columbia to divest from any companies that are complicit in Israeli abuses against Palestinians.
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