Columbia University's graduation ceremonies on Sunday were co-opted by pro-Palestinian activists, who used the events as a platform for anti-Israel protest.
The University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) branch, which published videos of the event alongside Columbia University Apartheid Divest, wrote, "PhD students at Columbia walked out of their graduation in protest, leaving entire rows of seats completely empty. Meanwhile, GSAS [Graduate School of Arts and Sciences] MA students walked across the stage waving their Palestine flags. Two separate graduations, but the students remind us all of Palestine every time.”
In one Instagram video posted by SJP, the students can be seen walking across the stage donning keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags. One student has her hands in handcuffs. Another student tears up her diploma on stage.
Some students arrived in handcuffs
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The NY Post reported on the event, saying that one social work graduate, whom they named Maliha Fairooz, appeared to have the name of a Hamas leader—Mazen Jamal Al-Natsheh—written on her cap as she accepted her degree.
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The traditional commencement ceremony was canceled by the university in light of weeks of protests and encampments, during which police were called.
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On Saturday, The Post also reported that Columbia University president Minouche Shafik would not be attending next week's "Class Day" - the biggest ceremony for graduating seniors - following weeks of anti-Israel protests that and two NYPD crackdowns.
"The Class Day celebrations typically feature student and keynote speakers and are a chance for graduates to walk across the stage and shake hands with the dean and university president before they are formally conferred their degrees."