Columbia University held its graduation ceremony on Wednesday, a year after pro-Palestine protests rocked the New York institution.
Acting university president Claire Shipman gave a commencement speech in which she acknowledged the absence of student activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was due to receive his diploma this week but is in a jail facing deportation for his role in the campus protests.
The brief address drew loud boos and chants of “free Palestine” from some graduating students angry that students were not being protected by the university.
Ms Shipman also alluded to the crackdown on foreign students by US President Donald Trump's administration.
“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 this right,” Ms Shipman said.
Campuses across the US last year were the sites of protests against the war in Gaza. Demonstrators demanded an end to the war and their universities' divestment from Israel and Israeli companies.
Mr Khalil, a legal permanent US resident and graduate of Columbia who was a student liaison with the administration during the protests, is being held in an immigration detention centre in Louisiana. Federal immigration authorities denied his request last month for a temporary release from detention to attend the birth of his first child.
An immigration judge ruled this month that the US government can proceed with efforts to deport Mr Khalil, who authorities consider to be a national security risk.
As Ms Shipman spoke, some students walked out while others booed and jeered. The acting president, who took over in late March, received a similarly icy reception during a smaller graduation ceremony on Tuesday.
Dozens of people protested across the street from the university's main gates on Wednesday, and at least one person in a blue Columbia graduation robe was detained by New York City police. Other students waiting to receive their diplomas wore keffiyehs and emblazoned their caps with Palestinian flags and pro-Palestine slogans.
Columbia has become a lightning rod for criticism of what Mr Trump and Republicans have called rampant anti-Semitism on university campuses.
The Trump administration froze $400 million in funding for Columbia over claims of anti-Semitism, demanding policy changes at the institution to restore funding, including banning masks on campus, empowering security officers to remove or arrest people and taking control of the department that offers courses on the Middle East from its faculty. Columbia acquiesced to the demands in March.
Some students and faculty have accused Columbia’s leadership of giving in to the Trump administration’s demands at the expense of protecting foreign students.
Speaking before the Senate on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio vowed to revoke more visas of students involved in campus pro-Palestine protests. He said the number of students who have lost their visas because of campus protests was “probably under 1,000”.
more from Janine di Giovanni
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
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How to avoid crypto fraud
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MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
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- Duration: Can linger for days
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At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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RESULTS
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
