Columbia University’s main graduation ceremony cancelled due to Gaza protests

Columbia University on Monday (May 6) announced that it has cancelled the main ceremony for graduating students next week amid the protests on campus by students over the ongoing war in Gaza.

The prestigious university in the United States stated that it would "forego the university-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15" and hold a series of smaller events instead.

"We have decided to make the centerpiece of our commencement activities our Class Days and school-level ceremonies, where students are honoured individually alongside their peers, rather than the University-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15," Columbia said in a statement.

Columbia called the past few weeks "incredibly difficult for our community" and further said that they are "determined to give our students the celebration they deserve and "smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families".

"We will focus our resources on those school ceremonies and on keeping them safe, respectful, and running smoothly. A great deal of effort is already underway to reach that goal," the university added.

The statement further added that the school consulted with student leaders in deciding how to handle graduation. The majority of the ceremonies, which had been set to take place on the Morningside Heights campus where most of the protests have taken place, will be moved to the university's main athletic complex.

Protest at Columbia University

The violent protest at Columbia University drew national attention with former United States president Donald Trump even comparing it to the January 6 Capitol attack.

The protest at Columbia University inspired similar demonstrations at dozens of universities around the US, with students calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and demanding their schools divest from companies with ties to Israel.

New York City police cleared a Columbia campus building last week that had been barricaded by pro-Palestinian protesters, arresting more than 100 people and dismantling an encampment.

Watch:Israel moving ahead of Gaza offensive?

Meanwhile, the White House said on Monday that US President Joe Biden will speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel's military called for Palestinians to evacuate eastern Rafah ahead of an offensive in the southern Gaza city.

"We can't speak for IDF operations. We have made our views clear on a major ground invasion of Rafah to the Israeli government, and the president will speak with the prime minister today," a spokesman for the National Security Council told the news agency AFP.

"We continue to believe that a hostage deal is the best way to preserve the lives of the hostages, and avoid an invasion of Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering.

"Those talks are ongoing now."

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)