Breaking news on pro-Palestinian protests in Gaza and US universities, live: news and more

Graduation ceremonies will be held at colleges and universities across the United States this weekend, following weeks of protests that have seen more than 2,100 arrests on more than 40 campuses in at least 25 states.

A wave of pro-Palestinian protests and university officials’ concerns about security have already begun to affect graduation ceremonies. In Michigan, protesters disrupted a graduation ceremony at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance on Friday, according to a video from CNN affiliate Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The president of the University of Vermont announced Friday that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield will no longer deliver the commencement address. Some of the campus protesters called on the university to rescind the invitation to Thomas-Greenfield.

All this comes just weeks after the University of Southern California decided to rescind Asna Tabassum’s invitation to speak at its ceremony. USC now plans to hold a “convocation family ceremony” on May 9, the school announced Friday, a week after canceling the main graduation ceremony.

These are the latest headlines:

New York News

The protesters occupying Hamilton Hall “crossed a new line,” Columbia University President Minuch Shafik said in a video message Friday. Columbia administrator Jay Johnson expressed support for Shafiq’s message, saying his past two weeks on campus have been “the most difficult in Columbia’s history.”

An NYPD spokesperson told WABC on Friday that the New York Police Department has detained 43 people at The New School.
Additionally, The New School has switched to online teaching on Fridays.

The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Friday condemned the school administrations of New York University, The New School, University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University for arresting student protesters.

Similarly, of the 44 people detained at Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall this week, 13 were adults not affiliated with Columbia, six were students from other academic institutions, 23 were Columbia students and two were school employees, according to a university breakdown.

California News

USC initiated disciplinary action against campus members who “violated both our policies and the law,” President Carol L. Folt said Friday. The university will take any other steps necessary to maintain campus security and comply with legal obligations, Bolt said.

Stanford University officials have sent the FBI a photo of a man at a campus camp who they say is wearing a pillow similar to those worn by members of Hamas.

University of California, Riverside administration and protesters reached an agreement Friday on transparency of investments and study abroad programs. The protest camp in the campus was to be disbanded by midnight on Friday.
Universities around the world

Students from Trinity College Dublin camped out on campus on Friday night as part of a pro-Palestine protest. It comes shortly after university officials fined the student union $230,000 (214,000 euros) for unrest caused by earlier pro-Palestinian protests.