14 May 2024: A student at New York’s Columbia University ripped up her diploma during a graduation ceremony to protest the educational institute’s alleged complicity in Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday.
During the commencement ceremony on Friday, Tarsis Salome, a Columbia social work graduate, wearing a keffiyeh and with zip-tied hands, tore her diploma to shreds while on stage.
In footage on social media, other graduates were also seen wearing zip-tie handcuffs and holding up pro-Palestinian signs.
The move came after the university cancelled its main graduation ceremony due to heightened security fears after some pro-Palestinian students erected a tent encampment there.
Pro-Palestine college campus protests have been persistent since April 17, when students at Columbia University launched an encampment in solidarity with Gaza and demanded that their school divest from Israel.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested at US campuses since last month amid heavily polarized debates over the right to protest, the limits of free speech and accusations of antisemitism.
Demonstrations and sit-ins are also being held on campuses in parts of Europe, including France, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
