Graduating students donned handcuffs, displayed Palestinian flags and tore up diplomas during a graduation ceremony at embattled Columbia University.
Friday’s commencement came on the heels of weeks of clashes between pro-Palestine protestors, administrators and law enforcement.
Despite the controversy, some students maintained the fighting spirit. One social work graduate crossed the stage with hands zip-tied above her head as cheers sounded from the audience.
As a livestream of the event rolled, she turned to the crowd and ripped up her diploma.
The university announced that it would be cancelling its main commencement last Monday, citing safety concerns. Dozens of smaller ceremonies will be held in its place.
During Columbia University’s commencement on Friday, one master’s student walked onstage with her hands tied above her head
She promptly ripped up her diploma after receiving it
Several students donned keffiyehs and zip-ties or handcuffs around their wrists
Other students brandished the Palestinian flag in a display of solidarity with the civilians in Gaza
The first two ceremonies for the School of Professional Studies went off without a hitch Friday morning and afternoon.
But the graduation for the School of Social Work sparked conversation as protestors began to file across the stage at the Baker Athletics Complex.
Several students sported keffiyeh scarves, which have become closely associated with the Palestinian liberation movement.
Two girls brandished ‘Free Palestine‘ signs as they received their diplomas. Another student carried a flag emblazoned with the slogan ‘Divest Now,’ a call for the university to pull its economic and academic stakes from Israel.
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine posted a clip of the ceremony to Instagram, accompanied by a caption proclaiming, ‘The students reminding us all of Palestine at EVERY SINGLE GRADUATION.’
Also uploaded to the account was a photo of a student’s graduation cap, which bore the words, ‘Acknowledge the Class of 2024 of Gaza and those who will never graduate.’
The protests continued into Monday during ceremonies for the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Some PhD students opted to skip the graduation altogether, leaving rows of empty seats in their absence. Several master’s students walked onstage waving Palestinian flags during their commencement later in the day.
One student’s graduation cap was emblazoned with the words, ‘Acknowledge the Class of 2024 of Gaza and those who will never graduate’
Several students were spotted waving Palestinian flags. One student carried a flag reading ‘Divest Now,’ a call for the university to pull its investments from Israel
NYPD officers arrested dozens of protestors on April 30 and cleared Hamilton Hall after it was seized by students who barricaded themselves inside
Earlier that month, officers took more than 100 demonstrators into custody, bringing an end to a two-day sit-in at the ‘Gaza solidarity camp’
University president Nemat Shafik has asked the police department to maintain a presence on campus through at least May 17
Officers from the New York City Police Department arrested scores of demonstrators on April 30 and cleared a building that had been seized a day prior.
School officials said they had called police to campus for the second time in less than two weeks after Hamilton Hall was ‘vandalized and blockaded.’
Students barricaded themselves inside the building and draped a banner reading ‘Hind’s Hall’ from a balcony, a reference to six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was gunned down by Israeli security forces in January.
The NYPD told DailyMail.com that more than 100 protestors were arrested after police stormed the ‘Gaza solidarity camp,’ ending a two-day sit-in in mid-April.
President Nemat Shafik has asked officers to maintain a presence on campus through at least May 17 to prevent similar occupations.
Just last week, a group of 13 judges appointed by Donald Trump penned a letter to Shafik stating their refusal to hire student protestors as law clerks.
The judges claimed they had ‘lost confidence in Columbia as an institution of higher education,’ deeming the school ‘an incubator of bigotry.’