Hundreds of Yale graduates staged a walkout from the university’s graduation ceremony in Newhaven on Monday.
The protesting students could be seen waving Palestinian flags as well as banners demanding that the college “disclose and divest.” Anti-Israel protests have ravaged campuses across the country for weeks, forcing some universities to cancel their end-of-year ceremonies altogether.
The student protesters at Yale’s event walked out as diplomas were being handed out to graduates. The students also chanted “free Palestine” as Yale President Peter Salovey delivered his address.
“It is not enough to retreat into silos alongside those who are already inclined to agree with us. Nor is it effective to ostracize, call out, or shame or silence well-meaning others who do not,” Salovey said in his speech.
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Students also waved Palestinian flags throughout the ceremony.
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Yale’s campus has been a hot spot for anti-Israel protests for the past several weeks. Police made dozens of arrests in a series of operations aimed at clearing out encampments.
The protest at Yale mirrored disruptions at graduation and commencement ceremonies taking place across the country. Drexel University in Philadelphia was forced to go into lockdown on Monday due to a resurgence in protests.
The University of Southern California was forced to cancel its graduation ceremony altogether.
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Columbia University, the early center of the protests, also canceled its school-wide graduation ceremony.
“Canceling the traditional Commencement ceremony was one of the toughest calls in a year of many tough calls,” Columbia University President Minouche Shafik wrote in a statement to students. “I recognize the toll the past few months have taken on your university experience, and I want you to know that I am deeply sorry for the disappointment that many of you may be feeling as a result.”
“The conflict between the rights of pro-Palestinian protesters and the impact that their protests have had on some members of our Jewish community is what makes this moment singularly fraught,” Shafik wrote.
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