Columbia University cancels commencement ceremony following student protests

School announced it will switch to smaller celebrations in its 19 colleges, almost three weeks after pro-Palestinian protests began

Columbia University has announced that it will be cancelling its university-wide commencement ceremony this month and switching to smaller celebrations in its 19 colleges, almost three weeks after pro-Palestinian protests erupted at the Ivy League institution.

A university official told the Guardian that the decision to scrap a large commencement ceremony was driven in part by security concerns. Most of the events will be shifted from the main lawn of the Morningside campus, which became the epicenter of students protests calling for the university to divest from Israel, and moved to an athletics center further north in Manhattan.