College commencement season in America disrupted as Columbia cancels main ceremony

College commencement season in America disrupted as Columbia cancels main ceremony

Spring on college campuses is usually a time for cap-and-gown photos, last hurrahs at the bar and celebrations with family and friends. But this year’s commencement season is off to a different start.

Columbia University and the University of Southern California have already canceled their school-wide graduation ceremonies. The commencement ceremony at the University of Michigan was met with disruptions. Students at other colleges have wondered about the fate of their graduation ceremonies. And at Morehouse, where President Joe Biden will speak at the school’s commencement ceremony — usually an honor — the announcement was met with backlash.

The threat of protests or actual demonstrations is not uncommon at college commencement ceremonies, said Michael Harris, a professor of higher education at Southern Methodist University. But what’s going on at graduations this year, is “atypical,” he said.

“Part of what college campuses are supposed to do in our society is have opportunities for debate,” he said. “What a lot of schools are worried about now are public safety concerns. You’re worried if we’re going to put 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 people together, do we have the ability to ensure that that event stays safe?”

Still, Harris said better engagement with students from university leadership early on might have avoided these circumstances. “If you would have just managed and worked with your students and had opportunities for engagement a month ago, three months ago, six months ago, you’re probably not canceling graduation today.”

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The ceremonies have become a site of tension amid campus protests over the war in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators at schools across the country have been pushing their colleges to divest from companies that do business in Israel. Colleges have countered the protests with a variety of tactics, ranging from inviting police on campus to make arrests to striking deals with demonstrators to consider divestment.

At Columbia, where demonstrations kicked off a nationwide movement at colleges last month, security concerns were one of the “main reasons” the school decided to cancel its university-wide commencement ceremony this year, a university official said. Still, school-level ceremonies will take place and families shouldn’t have to change their travel plans, the university said in a statement.

“We will focus our resources on those school ceremonies and on keeping them safe, respectful, and running smoothly. A great deal of effort is already underway to reach that goal,” the statement reads.

The University of Southern California announced last month that it would cancel its school-wide commencement event following controversy surrounding the school’s decision to cancel a speech by the class valedictorian.

Other schools that have been the site of demonstrations moved forward with commencement ceremonies, though not without incident. At the University of Michigan, pro-Palestinian demonstrators stood up when the Secretary of the Navy commissioned graduates of the Reserve Officers Training Corps, holding up signs and banners, according to the school’s student newspaper, the Michigan Daily.

They chanted, “Regents, regents, you can’t hide, you are funding genocide” and “We will not rest until divest,” while walking down the main aisle towards the stage. Ultimately the protesters were moved to the back of the school’s stadium by security personnel. No arrests were made.

At Georgia State University, a video of a student wearing a keffiyeh being escorted off stage by police went viral. The school said in a statement that the student wasn’t kicked out for the scarf, which is a sign of Palestinian solidarity, instead, they were escorted out because they brought a flag to the ceremony.

Morehouse, which is scheduled to host its graduation later this month, has received pushback from students, faculty and alumni over Biden speaking at the school’s commencement. They’ve said having Biden speak at the ceremony “will alienate donors. It will discourage new applications from a youth generation that overwhelmingly supports a ceasefire,” in Gaza. A group of alumni is encouraging students to “make your dissent known.”

So far, the school is sticking with its plan to have Biden at graduation, according to Inside Higher Ed. The school didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other colleges across the country that have been the site of protests are going forward with their commencement plans. At the University of Texas-Austin, commencement is “a full go,” Brian Davis, a spokesperson for the school wrote in an email. “We cannot comment on police tactics, but we routinely have an extensive safety and security plan in place for all large-scale events, like our main graduation ceremony held in Royal-Memorial Stadium.” Last month, 79 people taking part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the school’s campus were arrested.

At the University of California-Berkeley, “there are currently no plans” to change commencement programming, Dan Mogulof, a university spokesperson wrote in an email.

“This year, like every year in the past, our efforts will focus on ensuring the ceremony can be successfully held, and on supporting the ability of graduating students, their friends, and families to safely enjoy and take part in an incredibly meaningful day,” Mogulof wrote.

Though graduations have been relatively quiet in recent years, American college students have a strong tradition of protesting at commencement ceremonies. Beginning in 1970, UC Berkeley stopped holding school-wide commencement ceremonies for 20 years, amid Vietnam-era protests. In 1969, some students wore gas masks at graduation.

A 1971 New York Times article noted that that year was the first time in four years that Harvard’s commencement ceremony wasn’t disrupted.

“There have certainly been over the years, protests and things either from speakers or people in the crowd because it is still a college campus, it’s a major public event,” Harris said.

Still, the historical context is likely cold comfort for the class of 2024 and their families. This cohort graduated high school during the early months of the pandemic and so teenage rites of passage, like prom and graduation, were relegated to Zoom.

“It was awful,” Harris said of the way the pandemic shifted those celebrations. Given that commencements are usually a celebration of students and their achievements, it’s “certainly unfortunate for that group of students,” that the ceremonies will be different this year, he added.