For nearly a century, Columbia University has held its commencement ceremony on Low Plaza, the central quad, with a backdrop of its iconic main library.
Amid student antiwar protests in 1968 that brought violent clashes with the police, hundreds of arrests, and students’ seizure of a campus building, Columbia’s leaders broke from tradition — moving graduation to an indoor venue several blocks away.
On Monday the university went a step further, canceling the universitywide ceremony altogether. Officials cited “insurmountable” security concerns after the university’s response to a pro-Palestinian encampment last month led the campus to spiral into turmoil.
Concerns about protests at commencement have led several colleges to modify their programs — canceling speakers, changing locations, or preparing language to address disruptions.
“There’s no way you can approach this commencement season thinking that it will go smoothly,” said Philip T. Hauserman, senior vice president for crisis communications at the Castle Group, a public-relations firm that works with colleges. “I don’t think it’s approaching it from how you can prevent, but rather how you can manage.”
Few colleges have canceled graduation ceremonies entirely. In addition to Columbia, the University of Southern California called off its universitywide event late last month; campus leaders had faced a fierce backlash after canceling the speech of the valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, a Muslim student who had linked a pro-Palestinian resource in a social-media profile.
Both universities have instead opted to focus on smaller-scale ceremonies for individual schools and colleges. Columbia will hold those events in indoor venues, which offer more controlled environments, Hauserman said.
Emory University announced on Monday that it would move its main graduation ceremony to an indoor complex 22 miles from campus due to “concerns about safety and security.”
Such shifts may decrease the likelihood that large-scale, in-the-moment protests break out, said Sean Rossall, chief executive of the RW Jones Agency, a higher-ed consulting firm. “Decentralizing a critical mass is one of the things I think folks are really focused on,” he said.
The University of Vermont on Friday pulled its planned commencement speaker, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, after students protested her scheduled appearance. Thomas-Greenfield used the United States’ veto on three United Nations cease-fire resolutions and abstained from the final, ultimately successful vote in March.
Administrators ‘Holding Their Breath’
Many campuses have issued guidance for attendees in anticipation of commencement demonstrations. Several ceremonies have seen small protests already.
At Indiana University at Bloomington, several graduates walked out of the event, chanting “Free Palestine,” as President Pamela Whitten spoke.
One person was arrested at Northeastern University’s commencement, at Fenway Park on Sunday, after approaching the stage during commencement speeches wearing a shirt that read “Divest” and chanting, “Aoun, Aoun, you can’t hide. You are funding genocide.” The university’s president is Joseph E. Aoun. A protest broke out at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor while the commencement speaker, the U.S. secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, spoke. There were no arrests.
Most other spring graduations will take place in May, including at many institutions where pro-Palestinian encampments continue.
“Every administrator is probably holding their breath and hoping that we can get through commencement or that things will die down,” Hauserman said. “But it seems like on some campuses, it’s going the opposite direction.”
Protesters at Pomona College, where 20 students were arrested last month for entering the president’s office, put up a second encampment Monday on the stage and lawn where commencement is set to take place on May 12. The California college said in a statement that it would continue offering to meet with protesters.
“When October 7 happened, there was always going to be some lasting remnant of this going into commencement season,” Rossall said, referring to the day Hamas attacked Israel. The staying power of the protests, he added, is a testament to how strongly students feel about the Israeli military’s retaliatory strikes on Gaza.
Colleges need to proactively communicate expectations and repercussions for policy violations, Hauserman said. Administrators should also plan how to react to protests in real time.
“How a president, how a board chair, how those on the dais are prepared to respond and engage when the inevitable protest happens … is really critical,” Rossall said. “The schools that will be the most successful are going to be the ones that address the elephant in the room before commencement ceremonies get underway.”
