Columbia University Scraps This Year's Commencement

Columbia will have no school-wide commencement ceremony as in years past. The Ivy League university said Monday it was scrapping the traditional event because of security concerns amid a season of campus protests, reports the Wall Street Journal. However, the school said smaller-scale ceremonies at individual schools will go on as planned May 15, per NBC News. The move comes after police raided pro-Palestinian encampments on the Columbia campus late last month and arrested more than 130 people.

"These past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for our community," said the school statement. "Based on feedback from our students, we have decided to focus attention on our Class Days and school-level graduation ceremonies, where students are honored individually alongside their peers." USC also has canceled its main commencement ceremony this year. (More Columbia University stories.)