Columbia University canceled its commencement after weeks of protests

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NEW YORK — Columbia University canceled a major commencement ceremony at the university on Monday after weeks of Palestinian protests rocked its campus and others across the U.S., but said students could still hold several smaller, on-campus celebrations. ceremonies this week and next.

The decision comes as universities across the country are divided over how to start classes. Another campus rocked by protests, Emory University, announced Monday that it will move from its Atlanta campus quadrangle to a suburban arena. But others, including the University of Michigan, Indiana University and Northeastern, completed the ceremonies with minor interruptions.

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Columbia's decision to cancel its May 15 major events spares its president, Nemat Shafiq, from speaking on campus where police dismantled a protest camp last week.

The Ivy League school in upper Manhattan said in a statement that the decision was made after discussions with students, saying the past few weeks had been “extremely difficult” for the community.

“Our students have emphasized that these small, school-based celebrations are important to them and their families,” officials said. “They can't wait to walk across the stage to applause and family pride and to hear from their school's invited guest speakers.”

Most of the ceremonies planned for the South Lawn of the main campus, where the camps were cleared last week, will be held at the Columbia Sports Complex, 5 miles (8 kilometers) to the north, officials said.

Speakers at some of Columbia's still-scheduled graduation ceremonies include Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijams, former CNN anchor Poppy Harlow, political scientist Ian Bremer and National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Monica Bertagnoli. Also, actor Michael J. Fox is slated to receive a Distinguished Service Medal from Columbia Teachers College.

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Columbia refused private lessons. In recent weeks, more than 200 Palestinian protesters have been arrested for camping on Columbia's Green Square or occupying an academic building, and similar encampments have sprung up at universities across the country as schools grapple with where to draw the line between freedom of expression. safe and inclusive campuses.

The University of Southern California previously canceled the main graduation ceremony and allowed other commencement activities to continue. Students left the USC campus Sunday morning after being surrounded by police and threatened with arrest.

Other universities held their graduation ceremonies with heightened security. A University of Michigan ceremony was interrupted by several chants on Saturday, and some students waved small Palestinian or Israeli flags at Northeastern University's Fenway Park commencement in Boston on Sunday.

The disruptions continued Monday after a pro-Palestinian camp at the University of California, Los Angeles was destroyed last week and nearly 200 were arrested. Police detained many people in the parking lot. The university also said classes held in the same building, Monroe Hall, would be held online “due to ongoing disruptions,” but did not elaborate.

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The protests stem from the conflict that began on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. Student protesters are calling on their schools to divest from companies that work with Israel or otherwise contribute to war efforts.

Hamas announced on Monday that it had accepted an offer by Egypt and Qatar to end the war in Gaza. There was no immediate comment from Israel on the deal, and details of the offer have not yet been released.

Israel, which has vowed to destroy Hamas, has launched an attack on Gaza that has killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Israeli strikes destroyed the enclave and displaced most of its inhabitants.

Emory's 16,000-student university is one of many that has repeatedly protested against the war.

Ceremonies scheduled for May 13 will now be held at the GasSouth Arena and Convocation Center in Duluth, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of the university's Atlanta campus, President Gregory Fenves said in an open letter.

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“Please know that this decision was not taken lightly,” Fenves wrote. “This was done in close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security consultants and other agencies — each of whom advised against initiating events on our campuses.”

The university called in outside law enforcement to arrest 28 people after a camp was set up on the quad on April 25. After initially claiming the protesters were outsiders, the university later said they were 20 Emory students and three faculty members. Police used pepper balls and electric silencers to subdue some of those arrested. Fenves later apologized.

Since then, campus protests have continued, including some additional arrests.

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Associated Press writer Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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