Columbia University's Wednesday graduation was marred by mayhem, as anti-Israel graduates set fire to their diplomas and police clashed with demonstrators outside the Upper Manhattan ceremony.
According to the New York Post, protesting students chanted "free Palestine!" and demanded the release of former graduate student Mahmoud Khalil as acting university President Claire Shipman tried to deliver the commencement address.
Khalil was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in March for his role in organizing anti-Israel unrest on the school's campus the year before. He is currently awaiting deportation.
"We firmly believe that our international students have the same rights to freedom of speech as everyone else, and they should not be targeted by the government for exercising their right," Shipman said in her speech, according to the Post.
"I know many in our community are mourning the absence of our graduate, Mahmoud Khalil," she said. "I want to offer one observation … to keep in mind that he stuck out in this world, which in Democracy is not inevitable."
When Shipman directly referenced Khalil, some of the graduates attempted to silence her by screaming "Free Mahmoud Khalil!"
Outside the ceremony, some of the newly graduated students reportedly ripped up and burned their diplomas, booed and chanted, and displayed signs accusing Israel of "atrocities" in its Gazan war against Hamas.
The Post reported that NYPD officers were called in to restore order, but it was unclear who summoned them to the scene.
Approximately 12,000 graduates and 25,000 family and friends were involved in the graduation ceremony.
On Tuesday, the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group, or CUAD, put out a call on social media for protesters to disrupt Wednesday's graduation.
"WEAR A MASK! GET LOUD! BRING NOISE! NO COMMENCEMENT AS USUAL UNDER GENOCIDE!" the group wrote on X.
Khalil was reportedly a spokesman for the anti-Israel group.
In an effort to restore some $400 million in federal funding, last month Columbia implemented changes recommended by President Donald Trump's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, including placing its Middle Eastern studies program into academic receivership, enacting a ban on mask wearing and authorizing campus security to make arrests.
The new policies have not completely extinguished anti-Israel incidents on campus, however.
Less than two weeks ago, Columbia placed at least 65 students on interim suspension and barred another 33 from campus after the anti-Israel protesters forced their way into the Butler Library reading room and refused to leave.
Last year's commencement was cancelled over safety concerns following an anti-Israel encampment that disrupted campus life for weeks during the spring semester.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.