Columbia University Cancels Main Commencement Ceremony After Weeks of Protests

Key Facts

After clearing an encampment and arresting protesters, Columbia had asked the New York Police Department to keep a presence on its campus until after commencement
The university’s main campus has been in a state of near lockdown since last Tuesday, when hundreds of police officers swarmed Hamilton Hall to remove some 46 pro-Palestinian protesters who had occupied the building and arrested more than 100 people protesting in and around the campus.
Columbia has repeatedly said Hamilton Hall remains a crime scene, leaving questions as to how some 15,000 graduates and their guests could easily be admitted to the area around it for the May 15 commencement.
Nemat Shafik, Columbia’s president, had previously cited her desire to host the graduation on campus as one of the key reasons that she called in the police on April 30 to remove both the occupiers from Hamilton Hall and the large tent encampment that had taken over a central lawn for two weeks.