Main commencement canceled at Columbia
Emory relocates its graduation events
Columbia University announced Monday that it will not hold its main commencement ceremony, following weeks of campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza.
In a news release, the university said it chose to make “school-level ceremonies” the centerpiece of this year’s graduation instead of a “large, formal ceremony.”
The university said it had consulted with student leaders in deciding how to handle graduation. The majority of the ceremonies, which had been set to take place on its upper Manhattan campus, where most of the protests have taken place, will take place at the main athletic complex about 5 miles away.
On the same day, Emory University in Atlanta announced a relocation of its various graduation events, including the school’s main commencement ceremony. Instead of taking place on the campus quad, the universitywide commencement ceremony will occur at an indoor arena in Duluth, Georgia, more than 20 miles northeast of campus.
“Please know that this decision was not taken lightly. It was made in close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisors, and other agencies – each of which advised against holding Commencement events on our campuses,” the university said in a statement.
Both Columbia and Emory, where pro-Palestinian protests have roiled campus and led to arrests, cited safety concerns in their statements on the changes.
Monday’s announcements from Columbia and Emory come as universities across the country and overseas continue to grapple with pro-Palestinian protests on campus.
Over the weekend, police responded to several college campuses. Students in Michigan and Indiana interrupted and walked out of graduation ceremonies. Last month, the University of Southern California became the first university to cancel its main commencement in the aftermath of large pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
Harvard to campers: Leave or be banned
Alan M. Garber, the president of Harvard, demanded in a statement on Monday that protesters break up a proPalestinian encampment in Harvard Yard or face a potential ban from campus.
In a statement published on Monday, Garber said those who “participate or perpetuate” the encampment’s continuation “will be referred for involuntary leave from their schools.” Students placed on involuntary leave must leave campus until “reinstated” and will not be able to sit in for exams of reside in on-campus housing.
Garber cited safety concerns as well as the upcoming graduation ceremonies as reasons for the university’s harsher stance on the encampment.
“The members of the Class of 2024 deserve to enjoy this milestone uninterrupted and unimpeded,” Garber’s statement said.
“It would be especially painful if students who graduated from high school or college during the pandemic were denied a full graduation ceremony for a second time.”
Police clear out UC San Diego encampment
Police at the University of California, San Diego, on Monday began breaking up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the school’s main campus as operations were suspended and classes were moved online.
Videos circulating on social media showed police in riot gear taking down tents and carrying away people handcuffed with zip ties. Events, classes and other operations – except for housing and dining – on UC San Diego’s West Campus were suspended “due to police activity,” the university announced.
On Sunday, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said the encampment was “illegal” and called on protesters “to peacefully disperse.” He said communication between university leadership and the demonstrators had broken down and that the encampment had tripled in size since May 1.
“In the last week, the encampment has limited free movement on campus, created a checkpoint for entry into the camp, and denied access to the fire marshal and health inspectors,” the statement said. “As time passes, the threat and potential for violent clashes increases.
Princeton University students on hunger strike
Students at Princeton University began a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, calling for the Ivy League school to divest from Israel.
A statement from organizers said participants would abstain from all food and drink except water until their demands were met. “We commit our bodies to (the) liberation of Palestine. PRINCETON, hear us now! We will not be moved!” the statement said.
The university told CNN that university physicians were monitoring the group and were offering medical support. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.
Princeton is not the first university where hunger strikes over the war in Gaza have occurred. Last month, students at the University of South Florida launched such a strike for more than two weeks before it ended after two students were hospitalized. Hunger strikes also occurred at Yale and McGill universities.
Encampments established at Oxford, Cambridge
Pro-Palestinian encampments also have been erected on the campuses of Oxford and Cambridge in the U.K. as students and organizers call on the universities to sever financial ties to Israel.
Oxford Action For Palestine, the group leading the demonstration at Oxford, said in a statement that an encampment was established at 4 a.m. Monday on the lawn outside of Pitts River Museum on the university’s campus.
At Cambridge, students set up tents and banners outside King’s College on Monday. Cambridge for Palestine, the organizers leading the protest, demanded a meeting with the school’s leadership.