Tensions were rising at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday after pro-Palestinian demonstrators resisted an order from the school to clear their encampment, leading to some skirmishes between the protesters and the police.
The entrenched protest movement was also causing disruptions to university commencements, with Columbia announcing the cancellation of its main ceremony. The move came after a weekend in which student activism was on display at several graduation events, alongside the usual pomp.
The weeks of demonstrations that led to police raids and arrests on several campuses — including at least 100 more at California schools on Monday morning — have spilled into the start of graduation season, with protests over the war in Gaza briefly disrupting some ceremonies over the weekend.
