Columbia University cancels main commencement after protests [Video]

Columbia University canceled its large university-wide commencement ceremony Monday following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that have roiled its campus and others across the U.S., but said students will still be able to celebrate at a series of smaller, school-based ceremonies this week and next.The decision comes as universities around the country are wrangling with how to handle commencements. Another campus shaken by protests, Emory University, announced Monday that it would move its commencement from its campus quadrangle in Atlanta to a suburban arena. But others, including the University of Michigan, Indiana University and Northeastern, have pulled off ceremonies with few disruptions.Columbia’s decision to cancel its main ceremonies scheduled for May 15 saves its president, Nemat Shafik, from having to deliver a commencement address in the same part of campus where police dismantled a protest encampment last week.Noting that the past few weeks have been “incredibly difficult” for the community, the …