Columbia cancels main commencement; universities crackdown on encampments: Live updates

Universities announced major changes to their graduation plans as campus protests over Israel's war in Gaza continued on Monday, with some universities cracking down on the demonstrations with police responses and threatening 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.

Over the weekend, police responded to several college campuses while students in Michigan and Indiana interrupted and walked out of graduation ceremonies. Last month, the University of Southern California became the first university to cancel its main commencement in the aftermath of large pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

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Developments:

∎ Protesting students at the University of California, Santa Cruz posted a detailed list of demands that include cutting ties with "Zionist institutions," including Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, and forbidding local police from coming on campus. A pro-Palestinian encampment has been set up on campus for over a week.

∎ Students at the University of Bologna in Italy set up a pro-Palestinian encampment, one of the latest campus protests in Europe, CNN reported, citing the Italian State Police.

MIT issues ultimatum to students at encampment

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology issued an ultimatum to students at an encampment on Kresge lawn: Leave by 2:30 p.m. or be prohibited from classes, exams and commencement.

Sally Kornbluth, the president of the university, said the situation on campus is "inherently highly unstable" and added that because of increasing concern for student safety, she must "now take action to bring closure to a situation that has disrupted our campus for more than two weeks."

In her statement, Kornbluth said students must swipe their university IDs as they leave the encampment and that those who voluntarily exit the area by 2:30 p.m. will only receive a written warning, as long as they haven't had any sanctions from the school's disciplinary committee since Oct. 7.

Those who stay past 2:30 p.m. will be barred from participating in academic activities including classes, exams or research for the remainder of the semester. They will also be blocked from participating in commencement. Those who have had recent disciplinary action taken against them and refuse to leave the encampment will be placed on "immediate interim full suspension" and will be barred from residence and dining halls.

"I hoped these measures could be avoided through our efforts to engage the students in serious good-faith discussion," the statement said. "But recent events, and my responsibility to ensure the physical safety of our community, oblige us to act now."

Police begin clearing out UC San Diego encampment

Police at the University of California, San Diego on Monday broke up a pro-Palestinian encampment on the school's main campus as operations were suspended and classes were moved online.

Videos circulating social media show police in riot gear taking down tents and carrying away people in handcuffs. The UC San Diego chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, the group leading the demonstration, said in a statement on social media that 30 people were arrested. The campus police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The university announced on Monday that events, classes and other operations – except for housing and dining – on UC San Diego's West Campus were suspended "due to police activity."

On Sunday, Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla said the encampment was "illegal" and called on the protesters "to peacefully disperse." He said communication between university leadership and the demonstrators had broken down and that the encampment tripled in size since it started on May 1.

"The encampment poses serious safety and security hazards to those inside and outside the encampment area. In the last week, the encampment has limited free movement on campus, created a checkpoint for entry into the camp, and denied access to the fire marshal and health inspectors," the statement said. "As time passes, the threat and potential for violent clashes increases."

Harvard to students: Leave encampment or face 'involuntary leave'

Alan M. Garber, the president of Harvard, demanded in a statement on Monday that protesters break up a pro-Palestinian encampment in Harvard Yard or face a potential ban from campus.

In a statement published on Monday, Garber said those who “participate or perpetuate" the encampment's continuation "will be referred for involuntary leave from their schools.” Students placed on involuntary leave must leave campus until “reinstated” and will not be able to sit in for exams or reside in on-campus housing.

Garber cited safety concerns as well as the upcoming graduation ceremonies as reasons for the university’s harsher stance on the encampment.

"The members of the Class of 2024 deserve to enjoy this milestone uninterrupted and unimpeded," Garber's statement said. "It would be especially painful if students who graduated from high school or college during the pandemic were denied a full graduation ceremony for a second time."

Encampments established at Oxford and Cambridge

Overseas, pro-Palestinian encampments were erected on the campuses of Oxford and Cambridge on Monday as students and organizers called on the prestigious institutions to sever financial ties to Israel.

Oxford Action For Palestine, the organizing group leading the demonstration at Oxford, said in a statement that an encampment was established at 4 a.m. on the lawn outside of Pitts River Museum on the university's campus. The group demands that Oxford disclose its investments, land holdings and grants; divest from all "arms companies"; divest from all companies involved in the war in Gaza; and end its relationships with universities in Israel.

At Cambridge, students set up tents and banners outside King's College on Monday. Cambridge for Palestine, the organizers leading the protest, called on the university to divest from Israel and demanded a meeting with the school's leadership.

Princeton University students hold hunger strike

Students at Princeton University began a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, calling for the Ivy League school to divest from Israel.

"Participants will abstain from all food and drink (except water) until our demands are met," said a statement from organizers. "We commit our bodies to [the] liberation of Palestine. PRINCETON, hear us now! We will not be moved!"

A spokesperson from the university said in an email that Dr. Melissa Marks, director of medical services at University Health Services, visited the group on Friday and Sunday "to offer health information and ongoing medical support." The university added that Marks has also spoken with one of the outside physicians who are monitoring the group. 

Princeton is not the first university where hunger strikes over the war in Gaza have occurred. Last month, students at the University of South Florida launched such a strike for more than two weeks before it ended after two students were hospitalized. Hunger strikes also occurred at Yale and McGill University.