Columbia University Acting President Claire Shipman was booed by students during her Wednesday commencement address. This happened as the university goes through the process of according with the demands issued in March by the White House to curb disruptive protests, such as those ignited by the Israel – Hamas War in October 2023 that led to an encampment the following April.
The crowd of graduates consisted of about 12,000 students and 25,000 other audience members, according to the New York Post. Throughout her speech, Shipman was frequently heckled. This prompted her to pause and let the crowd noise fade before resuming her speech:
“I know that many of you feel some amount of frustration with me and I know you feel it with the administration,” Shipman said. “And I know that we have a strong, strong tradition of free speech at this university. And I am always open to feedback, which I am getting right now,” she said, addressing the discontent expressed by the graduates.
Notably, Shipman brought up the controversial figure Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for his participation in the 2024 encampments. She mentioned that the graduates may be lamenting the absence of Khalil:
“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,” Shipman said. “I know many in our community are mourning the absence of our graduate Mahmoud Khalil.”
“Free Palestine” and “Free Mahmoud” were chanted by graduates throughout the speech.
Several students who graduated destroyed their diplomas after the ceremony and demonstrated against Israel’s military actions toward Hamas. On May 7, 80 students were arrested for invading the university’s Butler Library and attempting to make it a “liberated zone.”
