Columbia cancels main commencement ceremony after weeks of protests

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Columbia University on Monday canceled its main commencement ceremony, saying "smaller-scale" celebrations will be held instead after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests disrupted the end of the semester and inspired demonstrations nationwide.

School officials said they chose to focus on the smaller ceremonies based on feedback from the Columbia community.

"We have decided to make the centerpiece of our Commencement activities our 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," the university said in an update online Monday.

"Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families," officials said. "As a result, we will focus our resources on those school ceremonies and on keeping them safe, respectful, and running smoothly."

The decision was made based on security concerns as well, according to NBC News .

Most of the ceremonies will be moved from the South Lawn—where a protest encampment was broken up last week—to Columbia’s Baker Athletics Complex, five miles north of the main campus, officials said. Access to the campus remains limited, and there are currently no encampments there.

Noting that "these past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for our community," officials said they're still "looking at the possibility of a festive event on May 15 to take the place of the large, formal ceremony."

Demonstrations at Columbia in mid-April led to an encampment on the South Lawn that inspired protests at schools across the U.S. Over 100 people were arrested April 18, when university leaders made the rare step of calling in the NYPD. But the protesters returned, and some even occupied Hamilton Hall, leading to a dramatic police raid on the building and more than 100 arrests last Tuesday night.

The unrest has disrupted in-person classes and final exams and led to renewed calls for tackling antisemitism at colleges.

Former President Donald Trump commented on the move by Columbia as he headed into a Manhattan courtroom Monday for his hush money trial.

“That shouldn’t happen,” Trump said of the cancellation.

Mayor Eric Adams also said Sunday that colleges should hold their graduation ceremonies as planned.

"It's a wonderful experience to graduate from an institution, and I don't think we should allow anything to get in our normal way of life," the mayor told ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

Last week, Columbia's embattled president, Minouche Shafik, released a video message urging members of the community to "show empathy and compassion for one another."