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

After weeks of protests in which more than 2,100 people were arrested on more than 40 campuses in at least 25 states, graduation ceremonies will be held this weekend at colleges and universities across the United States.

The 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 video from a reporter for CNN affiliate Richmond Times-Dispatch.

And 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 protesters on campus had called on the university to rescind the invitation extended to Thomas-Greenfield.

This all comes just weeks after the University of Southern California decided to rescind the invitation extended to Asna Tabassum to speak at its event. USC now plans to hold a “graduation family party” on May 9, the school announced Friday, just a week after canceling the main graduation ceremony.

These are the latest headlines:

new york news

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik said in a video message Friday that protesters occupying Hamilton Hall “have crossed a new line.” Columbia Administrator Jeh Johnson expressed support for Shafiq’s message, calling the past two weeks on campus “the most difficult in Columbia’s history.”

The New York Police Department detained 43 people at The New School, a private university in the city, after the school requested help breaking up squatters, according to an NYPD spokesperson who spoke to CNN affiliate WABC on Friday .
Additionally, The New School moved to online learning on Friday.

The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Friday condemned the school administrations of New York University, The New School, the University at Buffalo and Stony Brook University for the arrests of 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 affiliated with other academic institutions, 23 were Columbia students and two were school employees, It was reported in the university breakdown.

california news

President Carroll L. USC has initiated a disciplinary process for campus members “who have violated both our policies and the law,” Folt said Friday. The university will take other measures necessary to maintain campus security and comply with legal obligations, Folt said.

Stanford University officials have sent the FBI a photo of a man at a campus camp who they say appears to be wearing a headband similar to those worn by Hamas members, according to reports this week.

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

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