Universities announced major changes to their graduation plans as campus protests over Israel's war in Gaza continued on Monday and some universities cracked down on the demonstrations with police responses and threatened students with disciplinary action.
Columbia University said in a statement that it will not hold its main commencement ceremony on May 15 and instead will make "school-level ceremonies" and other smaller celebrations the centerpiece of this year's graduation.
On the same day, Emory University in Atlanta announced it will relocate its various graduation events from the main campus to an arena and a convention center in Duluth, Georgia, more than 20 miles northeast of campus. Both Columbia and Emory, where police have responded to pro-Palestinian demonstrations and arrested dozens of protesters, cited safety concerns in their statements on the changes.