Columbia University Acting President Claire Shipman was on stage when he went to the 2025 class during a graduation ceremony on Tuesday. Students sang “Free Mahmoud!” in support of Mahmoud KhalilA student and leader of Pro-Palestine protest that has been detained since March.
Shipman went to the students as he took the stage during the 2025 graduation ceremony on Tuesday morning.
What happened to the University of Columbia University graduation class?
“Good morning, class 2025. I know many of you feel a little frustration with me and I know you feel it with the administration,” he said, according to News NBC.
“And I know we have a strong and strong tradition of free expression in this university. And I am always open to comments, which I am receiving right now,” Shipman added while students started blocking it.
About 10 minutes after their intervention, people started singing “Mahmoud free!” According to Shipman, he paused his speech, but did not further address what he did.
Why were the students acting on the acting president of Columbia University?
The incident occurs after Columbia University has been reduced to pro-palestine protests on the campus. Some students have been criticizing the institution’s fulfillment with the Trump administration’s efforts to arrest and detain foreign students who participated in these protests. They say that the school allowed us to immigration agents and customs on the campus.
Tuesday’s songs expressed their support for Khalil, a graduate student from Syria and a green card holder. He was arrested by ice in March 2025 and is currently detained in Louisiana, waiting for a potential deportation
Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi was also detained
Permanent resident Mohsen Mahdawi, who was born and grew up in the West Bank, was detained during a citizen interview on April 14, according to NBC News. Mahdawi was released on bail last month and graduated on Monday with a baccalaureate title in philosophy.
“Columbia gave me access to resources and spaces that helped me to give me -but also punished me for using my voice,” Mahdawi said in a statement on Tuesday. “I was besieged, guarded and isolated, to dare -to talk about the realities of life under the occupation, for saying that the Palestinians deserve to live in dignity. I sell the West Bank. I know what it means to be told that your life does not matter.
“Students who risked it -all to protest in injustice. The teachers who settled. Personnel who supported us quietly. It’s the Columbia that I am proud to be a part,” he added. “And I will continue to challenge this institution to keep up with its values, after this graduation.”
