https://bangladeshdiplomat.com/feed
Columbia University has canceled graduation ceremonies following weeks of pro-Palestinian student protests demanding an end to the Israeli war on the besieged Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of US aid. Considering the situation, it has been planned to organize this event on a small scale to keep the students safe, the university authorities said. The graduation ceremony was supposed to start from May 15.
According to the information of the British media BBC, anti-Israel protests started at Columbia University in the middle of last April. Since then, the protests have spread to about 140 colleges in 45 US states, including Washington DC.
The City University of New York said it reached the decision after discussions with student leaders about hosting the graduation ceremony. Pro-Palestinian protests over the past few weeks have disrupted plans for graduation ceremonies at US universities and colleges.
“Our students emphasize that these small-scale, school-based graduation ceremonies are very meaningful to them and their families,” Columbia University said in a statement Monday.
“Students look forward to crossing the stage to applause and a moment of family pride. At the same time, they are waiting to hear the speech from the guest speakers invited to the school. As a result, we will focus to the best of our ability on school events and conducting them safely, respectfully and smoothly.''
According to the US news agency Associated Press, about two and a half thousand students and teachers have been arrested so far from the protests that started in educational institutions across the United States. Last week, university officials called in police to evict pro-Palestinian protesters from a Columbia campus in Upper Manhattan. Later, the police arrested more than a hundred protestors from there.
Protesting students occupied Columbia University's Hamilton Hall, naming the hall after Hinder, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza. On April 18, college authorities sent police to another Columbia campus in the Morningside area to arrest more than a hundred students.
Columbia University officials have called on New York police to remain on campus until May 17. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian students holding a sit-in at the University of Southern California (USC) called the Los Angeles police on campus.
Columbia officials announced the cancellation of USC's graduation ceremony the day after the protesters were evicted. However, the police did not arrest any protester from that campus.
In a statement Sunday, USC President Carol Folt said the move comes as the student sit-in program disrupts preparations for exams and graduation ceremonies on campus. On the same day, Northeastern University's graduation ceremony was held peacefully in Boston's Fenway Park area with police present.
The post Pro-Palestinian protests spread in 45 states of the United States appeared first on Bangladesh Diplomat Bangladesh Diplomat.