At least two anti-Israel protesters were taken into custody outside Columbia University during its annual graduation ceremony, as NYPD officers clashed with several dozens of unruly demonstrators gathered across the street from the main entrance.
Inside the campus, the event — which drew around 37,000 attendees — went largely without disruption. However, acting President Claire Shipman's commencement speech was nearly drowned out by loud chants demanding the release of former graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by ICE in March and is currently facing deportation. Outside the university gates, some recent graduates burned their diplomas in protest, booing, chanting, and brandishing signs condemning Israel for alleged "atrocities" in its conflict with Hamas.
Breaking All Barriers in Protest
Police were dispatched to keep the situation under control, though the NYPD couldn't immediately identify who had requested that they go to the Morningside Heights campus.
Khalil, a spokesperson for the activist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), is facing deportation under the Trump administration for allegedly participating in actions "aligned with Hamas."
Ahead of Wednesday's graduation, CUAD issued a message on social media vowing to disrupt the ceremony.
"WEAR A MASK! GET LOUD! BRING NOISE! NO COMMENCEMENT AS USUAL UNDER GENOCIDE!" the group wrote in an X post Tuesday.
Last year's graduation ceremony was called off due to safety concerns after an anti-Israel protest encampment took over the campus for several weeks during the spring.
University Head Booed
The head of Columbia University delivered a commencement address, acknowledging the absence of Khalil, who was also supposed to graduate this week. However, the brief speech was met with loud boos and chants of "free Palestine" from several graduating students.
Acting President Claire Shipman also alluded to the Trump administration's recent crackdown on international students, which has sparked unrest at the Ivy League university in recent months.
"We firmly believe that our international students have the same rights to freedom of speech as everyone else and they should not be targeted by the government for exercising this right," Shipman said, adding: "I know many in our community are mourning the absence of our graduate Mahmoud Khalil."
Khalil, a graduate student enrolled in Columbia's international affairs program, has been in detention since March 8, when immigration authorities arrested him at his apartment off campus. During his time in custody, he missed the birth of his first child.
As Shipman delivered her speech under gray, rainy skies, some students walked out in protest, while others booed and heckled. The acting president, who assumed the role in late March, faced a similarly cold reception at a smaller graduation event held on Tuesday.
