Ivy League school officials announced Monday that Columbia University is canceling its May 15 commencement ceremony following weeks of destructive and violent anti-Israel protests on campus.
Instead, the university is opting for a “small school-based celebration.”
The school has decided to center its graduation activities on the school day and at a school-level ceremony in which students are honored individually with their peers, rather than a university-wide ceremony scheduled for May 15. The school announced. announcement.
The streamlined ceremony will also no longer be held on the Ivy League’s iconic South Lawn. The South Lawn is the same location where hundreds of protesters were arrested after refusing to leave a large tent camp set up there.
The university said the decision to cancel the ceremony was made after consulting with alumni.
“Our graduates, their families, and their loved ones are extremely focused on the upcoming graduation ceremony. So are we. “We are determined to give them the gift of congratulations,” the statement said.
“Our students emphasized that these small, school-based celebrations were the most meaningful to them and their families.”
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