Columbia University cancels main 2024 commencement ceremony, will host multiple ceremonies instead

NEW YORK - Columbia University said Monday it is canceling its main commencement ceremony after weeks of protests and turmoil on campus. 

Instead of one single commencement ceremony, the various schools involved will hold smaller, individual ceremonies. They will take place away from the South Lawn, where the larger commencement ceremony had originally been scheduled to take place on May 15, and where students had been encamped until police cleared them out. 

A university official said security concerns were one of the main reasons behind the school's decision.