NEW YORK (AP) – Columbia University has canceled a large university-wide graduation ceremony next Monday. Weeks of pro-Palestinian protests Although it has disrupted campuses and other universities across the country, students said they can celebrate with a series of small, school-based ceremonies this week and next.
This decision comes as universities across the United States are grappling with how to handle graduation ceremonies for students whose high school graduation ceremonies were canceled in 2020 due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It was conducted. Emory University, another campus rocked by protests, announced Monday that it would move its graduation ceremonies from its Atlanta campus. To the suburban arena. University of Michigan, Indiana University, Northeastern University and others have canceled ceremonies. There is little confusion.
Columbia University's decision to cancel a major ceremony scheduled for May 15 has prompted the university's president, Minoush Shafiq, to hold the graduation ceremony in the same location on campus where police cleared a protest encampment last week. There will be no need to give a speech. The Ivy League school in upper Manhattan said the decision was made after discussions with students.
“Students emphasized that these small, school-based celebrations were the most meaningful to them and their families,” officials said. “They want to walk across the stage for applause and family pride, and to hear guest speakers invited by their schools.”
Most of the ceremonies scheduled for the south lawn of the main campus, where the encampment was cleared last week, will now be held at Columbia University's sports complex, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north, officials said. .
Some commencement speakers still scheduled at Columbia University include Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames, former CNN anchor Poppy Harlow, political scientist Ian Bremer, and National Health Research These include Dr. Monica Bertagnoli, director of the institute. Actor Michael J. Fox will also receive a Distinguished Service Medal from Columbia University Teachers College.
Columbia University had already canceled in-person classes.More than 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators camped in Colombia's green spaces and parks. occupied an academic building He has been arrested in recent weeks.
Similar camps have sprung up elsewhere as universities struggle to decide where to base themselves. Draw a line Between allowing free expression while maintaining a safe and inclusive campus.
Formerly University of Southern California Major graduation ceremonies have been canceled.student abandoned their camp He was arrested Sunday at the University of Southern California after being surrounded by police and threatened with arrest.
Other universities also held graduation ceremonies with increased security. University of Michigan On Saturday, the ceremony was interrupted by several chants. In Boston, some students waved small Palestinian or Israeli flags at Northeastern University's graduation ceremony at Fenway Park on Sunday.
AP correspondent Julie Walker reports that Columbia University has canceled a major graduation ceremony following pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Emory University, which has 16,000 students, is one of the universities that has been the subject of repeated protests over the war.
The ceremony, scheduled for May 13, will be held at the GasSouth Arena and Convocation Center in Duluth, nearly 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of the university's Atlanta campus, President Gregory Fenves said in an open letter. Stated.
“Please know that this decision was not made lightly,” Fenves wrote. “This was done in close consultation with the Emory Police Department, security advisors, and other agencies. Each agency recommended that graduation events not be held on campus.”
The protests stem from the conflict that began on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. Student protesters are calling on the school to: Sale from a company Anyone who does business with Israel or contributes to the war effort.
Pledging to annihilate Hamas, Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled area's health ministry. Ta. The enclave was destroyed by Israeli military attacks and most of the population was evacuated.
Hamas announced on Monday that it would accept Egyptian-Qatari nationals. ceasefire proposal, However, Israel subsequently authorized military operations in the southern Gaza town of Rafah and launched attacks on targets in the area. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would send negotiators to continue negotiations.
The University of California, Los Angeles warned students on Monday that all classes would be moved online due to continued disruption from the clearing of a pro-Palestinian camp last week. University police reported 44 arrests, but there were no specific details, UCLA spokesperson Eddie North Hager said in an email to The Associated Press.
At the University of California, San Diego, police cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment and arrested more than 30 people, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Schools have tried a variety of tactics, from appeasement to threats of disciplinary action, to get demonstrators to leave their encampments or move to areas of campus where the protests have less impact.
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago said in a Facebook post Sunday that it would provide “academic sanctions and amnesty from trespass charges” if the protesters were moved.
“Many demonstrators left the premises of their own accord after being advised by police that they could be arrested for trespassing,'' the school said. “Those who remained were arrested after being warned multiple times to leave, including some who identified themselves as SAIC students.”
A group of faculty and staff at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has asked the administration to pardon students who were arrested and suspended during recent protests. The UNC Palestine Justice faculty member said in a media advisory that he is delivering the letter on behalf of more than 500 faculty members who support student activists.
Other universities have taken a different approach.
Harvard University interim president Alan Garber has warned students that students who attend a pro-Palestinian camp inside Harvard Yard could face “involuntary leave.” That means they may not be allowed on campus, lose their residence halls and be unable to take exams, Gerber said.
At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, police restricted access to the campus after the deadline for students to leave school had passed. About 200 protesters gathered outside the camp, chanting, “Can't you see MIT?” They held slogans such as “Palestine will be free.''
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Associated Press writer Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to change the Columbia University president's first name to Minouche, reflecting her preference.