Columbia, the prestigious New York university at the heart of US campus protests against the war in Gaza, announced Monday, May 6, that it has canceled the main ceremony for graduating students next week. The Ivy League institution said it would “forego the university-wide ceremony that is scheduled for May 15” and hold a series of smaller events instead.

Noting that the past few weeks have been “incredibly difficult” for the community, the school said in its announcement that it made the decision after discussions with students. “Our students emphasized that these smaller-scale, school-based celebrations are most meaningful to them and their families,” officials said. “They are eager to cross the stage to applause and family pride and hear from their school’s invited guest speakers.” “We are determined to give our students the celebration they deserve, and that they want,” Columbia announced. “We will focus our resources on those school ceremonies and on keeping them safe, respectful, and running smoothly. A great deal of effort is already underway to reach that goal,” the university said.

Most of the ceremonies that had been scheduled for the south lawn of the main campus, where encampments were taken down last week, will take place about 5 miles north at Columbia’s sports complex, officials said.

Demonstrations against Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza have rocked campuses across the United States for weeks, prompting crackdowns, mass arrests, and a White House directive to restore order. Last week, police evicted protesters occupying a Columbia University building and cleared out an unauthorized encampment on the campus lawn. Columbia had already canceled in-person classes.

The University of Southern California earlier canceled its main graduation ceremony while allowing other commencement activities to continue. Students abandoned their camp at USC early Sunday after being surrounded by police and threatened with arrest.