Graduation ceremonies are usually moments of joy and celebration, but this year at Columbia University, the mood was anything but festive.
Instead of throwing caps in the air, some students chose to burn or tear up their diplomas as a bold act of protest.
The reason? Frustration and anger over the university’s recent decisions under pressure from the Trump administration.
Students Protest Against Columbia’s Shift on Israel and Campus Policies
Outside the ceremony, a loud crowd gathered, chanting slogans like “Free Palestine,” wearing traditional keffiyehs, and waving a Palestinian flag demanding freedom for Mahmoud Khalil.
Khalil, a Syrian student on a green card, is currently in custody and facing deportation after being arrested for organizing pro-Palestinian protests on campus earlier this year.
He was a leading voice in the Columbia University Apartheid Divest group, which spearheaded last year’s highly disruptive protests and encampments.
These demonstrations have clearly left a deep mark on the campus atmosphere.
Burning Diplomas as a Symbol of Frustration
Photos from the event show students literally setting their diplomas on fire — years of hard work and thousands of dollars invested reduced to ashes as a symbol of protest.
Others tore their certificates to pieces, proudly holding the crumpled remnants above their heads.
The protest group CUAD had rallied supporters on social media beforehand, calling for a noisy, mask-wearing demonstration to disrupt the usual calm of commencement.
Their message was clear: “No commencement as usual under genocide.”
Heckling and Acknowledgement During the Ceremony
Inside the ceremony, some students continued the protest by wearing keffiyehs and heckling acting university president Claire Shipman during her speech.
Shipman addressed the crowd with a nod to Mahmoud Khalil, recognizing the loss felt by the university community in his absence.
She also reaffirmed the university’s stance on free speech, saying, “We firmly believe that our international students have the same rights to free speech as everyone else.”
The Broader Political Battle: Trump’s Pressure and Funding Cuts
Outside the gates, protesters shouted slogans like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Columbia will fall,” underscoring the deep divisions the protests have stirred.
These demonstrations come amid heightened political pressure from the Trump administration.
After Columbia allowed these protests to go unchecked, the White House retaliated by slashing $400 million in federal funding — a move that shocked many students and alumni alike.
President Trump also ordered the university to ban face masks at protests, aiming to curb the anonymity of demonstrators.
Columbia complied, banning masks on campus except for health reasons, as part of a broader effort to clamp down on disruptive protests.
University Reforms Under Federal Pressure
In response to the funding cut, Columbia has promised to overhaul its disciplinary process and ban protests inside academic buildings.
The university is also required to increase “intellectual diversity” by appointing new faculty to its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies.
One of the more controversial federal demands was putting Columbia’s Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department under academic oversight for at least five years.
Financial Impact and Job Cuts at Columbia
The loss of $400 million in funding has hit Columbia hard.
The university was forced to cut 180 jobs and scale back some research activities, describing the situation as “running lighter footprints” in their infrastructure.
With such a massive funding blow, Columbia’s future campus climate and academic offerings face uncertainty, while student activists continue to fight for their causes amid these ongoing tensions.