This year’s graduation tassel is stirring up quite the commotion at Columbia University.
According to students, the university is “penalizing” its graduates for past pro-Palestinian and anti-ICE demonstrations by relocating the commencement ceremony from its historic rotunda to a less central location—the football field at the Robert K. Kraft Field within the Baker Athletics Complex, situated over eight miles away in Inwood.
The decision has sparked outrage among the Ivy League’s graduating class, who are fervently attempting to overturn the plan. The class of 2026 has strongly criticized the change, labeling it as “unjust.”
“It’s a slap in the face to the student body. We’ve all dedicated at least four years of hard work here, and we deserve to feel acknowledged, celebrated, and respected by the university,” expressed Vivian Carmody, a 22-year-old Barnard pre-med student, in an interview with The Post.
“Considering everything that has transpired—especially within my class over the past four years—it feels like there’s a growing disconnect between us and the administration. This decision just tops it all off,” Carmody added.
Columbia initially informed students on February 9 that this year’s ceremony wouldn’t take place on the Morningside campus’ iconic Low Steps. This announcement, coming just three months before 18,000 students were slated to graduate, was first covered by The Columbia Spectator.
The school claimed the move was made to accommodate the massive class size, which is 20% larger than its 2025 predecessor.
But some seniors were quick to point out that Columbia was planning to split commencement into separate undergraduate and graduate ceremonies for the first time — leading them to question why the reduced-sized events couldn’t be held on the Low Steps anyway.
This marks the second time Columbia moved its graduation to Inwood.
The University canceled its commencement ceremony in 2024 and moved most of the Class Day ceremonies to Kraft Field out of concerns for student safety after the Ivy League stoked controversy for allowing a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” and anti-Israel demonstrations on its South Lawn.
At the time, seniors believed the change was a punishment for the unruly protests and bad publicity.
Plenty of this year’s graduating students participated in those protests and have continued the trend in recent weeks with explosive anti-ICE demonstrations — leading some to theorize an outraged administration is continuing to slap down the students for exercising their right to free speech.
“Columbia hasn’t seen this many protests in a few years, and our class has kind of been given that reputation, so it does kind of feel like a punishment in that way,” said Carmody, a first-generation college graduate.
Another swirling theory is that the class of 2026 is being used as guinea pigs to gauge the student body’s response to permanently moving commencement to the football field as the school considers boosting its undergraduate enrollment by 20% for its School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Meanwhile, the last-minute change is causing a logistical and emotional nightmare for students, whose families have already booked hotels next to the Morningside campus months in advance.
Plus, the Low Steps are utilized by students throughout the year, whereas the far-off football field is rarely visited by the general population.
“It’s something I’ve been looking forward to and seeing other seniors experience it. … It’s this big celebration and we’re just not going to get to experience it in the traditional sense if the decision isn’t reversed,” said Carmody, calling the Low Steps a “really iconic part of campus.”
Carmody has spearheaded an online petition that has garnered more than 1,600 signatures as of Thursday — imploring administrators to reverse course.
“Baker is a location that is frustratingly foreign. I want to graduate on the same campus. I want to bring my family to the place I spent so much time at,” a student named Emily wrote.
“Yeah man why not just have the culmination of the ivy league experience be walking around a turf football field,” Griffin added.
Chariclia simply noted: “This decision is so evil.”
A group of senior class presidents also provided a 40-page document of compiled complaints to the university’s commencement team, the Columbia Spectator reported.
Columbia declined to comment when reached by The Post, but the University Senate Student Affairs Committee told the Spectator that it was in talks with administrators about reversing course — with a final decision expected to land in the coming week.
