Students chant 'Free Mahmoud' at Columbia University graduation

NEW YORK - There was one notable -- and loudly noted -- absence on Wednesday at Columbia University's graduation ceremony: detained pro-Palestinian student protest leader Mahmoud Khalil.

"Boo... Shame on you!" students chanted when Clare Shipman, interim president of the prestigious New York City school, took the podium.

Columbia has been the site of demonstrations calling for an end to violence in Gaza for the past 18 months, and more recently, has seen student protesters arrested by the Trump administration.

Khalil, one of the most visible leaders of nationwide campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza, has been detained by US authorities for more than two months following his campus activism.

Even though he is a permanent US resident, he has been marked for deportation.

Before Wednesday's graduation ceremony, attendees were warned over loudspeakers that any interruption was prohibited and those who didn't follow the rules could be asked to leave.

That didn't prevent chants of "Free Mahmoud."

Some students wore keffiyehs as scarves or in lieu of graduation caps, donning a symbol of the Palestinian cause.

As light rain fell and a damp chill set in, Shipman congratulated 16,000 new graduates as they depart a school that remains in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.

"We firmly believe that our international students have the same rights to freedom of speech as everyone else, and they should not be targeted by the government for exercising that right," Shipman said.

"And let me also say that I know many in our community today are mourning the absence of our graduate, Mahmoud Khalil," she added before launching into a plea to defend democracy, which she described as "the essential work of your generation."

'Embarrassed' graduates

Without directly naming US President Donald Trump, Shipman defended academic institutions as "pillars of a healthy, functioning, democratic nation."

The White House has cut US$400 million in federal aid to Columbia alone, taking aim at schools that don't fall into line with its demands while arresting students involved in pro-Palestinian causes.

Earlier in May, 80 pro-Palestinian students were arrested on Columbia's campus after attempting to occupy the main library. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials would review the visa status of the "vandals" involved for possible deportations.

Recent Columbia graduate Khalil is being held in a detention center in Louisiana and faces possible deportation after his March arrest amid accusations of supporting Palestinian militant group Hamas.

His lawyers said Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials barred Khalil from holding his newborn son, after his wife Noor Abdalla flew with the baby to Louisiana.

"It is deliberate violence, the calculated cruelty of a government that tears families apart without remorse," Abdalla said in a statement.

Columbia students have reported a chill to campus free speech and a sense of shame that their university did not do more to support freedom of expression.

"With the behavior of the university over the last few years -- oh, it's been horrific. I feel embarrassed every single day that my degree is attached to this university," said Olivia Blythe, a 30-year-old masters graduate in social work who wore a keffiyeh over her pale blue gown.

Blythe said tension was palpable during a ceremony Tuesday for students in her department, with audience members yelling "arrest them, get them out, kick them out" at pro-Palestinian students like herself.

Sociology graduate Alfred Young said he appreciated his social justice-focused education at Columbia, but felt that was disconnected from the school's administration.

"I was honestly surprised that President Shipman referenced Mahmoud, and honestly, I do believe it was a bit tone deaf, given how the administration handled everything," Young said.

At the end of the ceremony, students tossed their caps as speakers blared Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind," a hip-hop ode to New York City.

With that, Columbia's tense year ended with hugs and selfies.

Outside campus, as hundreds of police kept watch, a few dozen pro-Palestinian demonstrators stood their ground.

One held a sign that read: "There is no graduation in Gaza today." - AFP