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All graduates (October, February and May) who plan to attend the May graduation ceremonies must wear academic regalia to both the Mailman and all-university Commencement ceremonies. When purchasing Regalia, please be sure to ensure a tassel was included with your mortarboard.

Save the Date: Grad Fair at the Medical Campus Bookstore March 1, 2024 from 11:00-4:00pm

Ordering and pick-up.

Graduates must purchase regalia from the Columbia University Bookstore or by visiting columbia.shopoakhalli.com .

Master’s Students (MPH, MHA, and MS)

Masters candidates at Columbia University and its affiliated institutions wear a cap (mortarboard) with a tassel and gown; no hood is used.

Master’s regalia is available for purchase and not available for rental. Master's regalia is $72.

• In-Store: Regalia may be purchased beginning February 27th at the CUIMC Bookstore
• Online: Orders may be placed beginning March 4th and ending March 22nd to be directly shipped to the student by visiting columbia.shopoakhalli.com
• Online: After March 22nd , you can order at columbiabookstore.com

Doctoral students (PhD and DrPH)

Doctoral recipients wear a gown, hood and velvet tam (cap). All three components are required in order to walk in all commencement ceremonies.

Doctoral regalia can be reserved online or in-store for purchase. A full set of doctoral regalia includes: Gown Rental, Hood Rental, Tam Purchase. 

A full set of doctoral regalia is $198: Gown Rental, Hood Rental, Tam Purchase ➢ In-store: Regalia may be reserved through April 12th without incurring a late fee. In-store pickup and ship-to-home options are available. ➢ Online: Orders may be placed beginning March 4th and ending March 22nd by visiting columbia.shopoakhalli.com . Doctoral rental regalia will be available for pickup in-store beginning April 22nd . A ship-to-home option is not available online.

Congratulations soon-to-be Columbia University Graduates!

We are here to help make it the most beautiful and memorable Commencement experience possible. All graduates will wear Customized Columbia University regalia.

Bachelor and Master attire is made from 100% PET recycled plastic bottles. For each cap and gown worn, 25 plastic bottles are diverted from landfills!  Your regalia is a souvenir for you to keep after the ceremony.  The last day to order is March 22, 2024.  

Columbia University graduates  THANK YOU for doing your part and helping to keep over 250,000 bottles from reaching our landfills!  

Doctoral gowns and hoods can be rented or purchased, and the tam (hat) is yours to keep following the ceremony.  Doctoral regalia will be available for pickup at the Columbia University bookstore starting April 22, 2024.

Sincere congratulations on all of your achievements! 

Last day to order Bachelor and Master Regalia: March 22, 2024

Last day to order Doctoral Regalia: April 11, 2024

*Please note: Group orders will not be accepted. Only one complete package may be purchased per order.  You may return your souvenir regalia unopened within 30 days and we will gladly refund you the purchase price less shipping. All returned items must be unopened and in their original packaging.** 

Online ordering is now closed.

Visit the Columbia University Bookstore to purchase or rent regalia on Monday – Friday 9 am – 6 pm and on weekends 11 am – 5 pm. 

You can also order bachelor and master regalia only at Columbia.bncollege.com . 

Contact the bookstore directly at  [email protected]  for any questions. 

Academic Attire

Academic Attire is mandatory for all ceremonies. Masters degree recipients wear a cap and robe (no hood) and Doctoral degree recipients wear a robe, hood and a tam.

You’re All Set If You Know This

Masters degrees.

Masters regalia is $72.

ORDERING INFORMATION

• In-store: Attire may be purchased beginning February 27 th .
• Online: Orders may be placed beginning March 4 th and ending March 22 nd to be directly shipped to the student by visiting columbia.shopoakhalli.com
• Online: After March 22 nd , you can order at columbiabookstore.com

Academic Attire Lottery for Masters Grads

Gsld academic attire lottery.

Graduate Student Life and Development conducts a lottery for its limited supply of academic attire for Masters graduates.

The Lottery Program Timeline

2/19/24 Academic attire lottery opens

3/04/24 Results announced

4/15/24 Lottery attire distribution (Monday-Thursday)

4/22/24 Lottery attire distribution (Monday-Thursday)

LOTTERY FORM

Doctoral degrees.

A full set of doctoral regalia is $198: Gown Rental, Hood Rental, Tam Purchase.

• In-store: Attire may be reserved through April 11 th without incurring a late fee.  In-store pickup and ship-to-home options are available.
• Online: Orders may be placed beginning March 4 th and ending April 11 th by visiting columbia.shopoakhalli.com . Doctoral rental attire will be available for pickup in-store beginning April 22 nd ,if ordered by April 11 th . A ship-to-home option is not available online.

Email the bookstore at [email protected] if you would like your order to be shipped.

Bookstore Location & Contact Information

Columbia university in the city of new york official bookstore, 2922 broadway @ 115th street, new york, ny 10027-7004, [email protected], store hours.

• Your Masters robe is made up of approximately 25 recycled plastic water bottles (!!) and as a result, we highly advise against ironing it as it can easily burn the gowns. If you do still choose to iron it and ruin the gown you will not be able to exchange it. We recommend hanging the gown in your bathroom before taking a shower or using a steamer to get out any creases or wrinkles.
• Grads are welcome to wear stoles, cords and decorate their caps and tams.
• For Masters and doctoral degree recipients, the tassel is worn on the left.  It does not move at any time during the ceremony.

FAQs from the CU Bookstore

The Grad Fair on Morningside Campus will be 2/27 – 2/29 from 11am – 6pm.  At the Grad Fair, we will assist you in taking your measurements and answering any questions.

Masters degree recipients wear souvenir gowns that are available for purchase and are in-stock through to 5/15/24. Doctoral attire needs to be ordered in advance and can be done as early as 2/27 at the Morningside Campus Bookstore. Masters attire can be purchased at the CU Bookstore.

Velvet colors on the hood are standardized and based on your degree. When filling out the degree field on your order form please list the exact degree that you will be earning. TC’s doctoral grads earn either a PhD or an EdD. PhD hoods have royal blue velvet and EdD hoods have light blue velvet.

Yes!  Please reach out to the CU bookstore ASAP. It can take up to 8 weeks to receive custom attire. Pricing for custom attire is: robe= $733 tam = $80 hood= $184. You can buy each item separately as well.

Rental attire must be returned to the Morningside Bookstore by 5/24/24. Only Gowns and Hoods are to be returned.  Tams are souvenir keepsakes and should not be returned.  Please do not dry clean your gowns or hoods as they are going to be cleaned anyway.  Gowns and hoods may also be mailed/shipped back to us at Columbia University Bookstore; 2922 Broadway; New York, NY 10027 at your own expense.

Attire can be purchased or rented in the bookstore up until 5/15/24. Email [email protected] and we will provide assistance.

All regalia will be available for pickup at the Morningside Campus Bookstore unless otherwise noted on the order.  If your order is to be shipped to a different address, there is an additional fee of $24.

Any Doctoral rentals that are placed by April 11th will be ready for pick up on April 22nd.

Yes! The cost is the same as a bachelors combo pack ($65) and the information we need is: 1) How tall?  2) How old will the baby be on the day of your ceremony? We will be able to take orders up to 4 weeks prior to your ceremony.

Visit www.columbia.bncollege.com for diploma frames and visit www.Balfour.com for class rings and announcements. Balfour will be in store 2/27 – 2/29 and 5/13 – 5/17.

As per the University, hoods are reserved and included in academic attire for only terminal degree holders.

Email [email protected] your needs and we will assist you.

Welcome back Columbia University 2020/2021 Graduates!

Columbia University is excited to welcome you back on May 19, 2022, for a very special commencement ceremony.

Regalia for the ceremony may be ordered here.  Cap, gown, and tassel sets are available, or you may choose to order headwear only. (Headwear is required for the ceremony)

Bachelor and Master's regalia is manufactured in the United States, using material woven from 100% PET recycled plastic bottles.

For each cap and gown worn, 25 plastic bottles are diverted from landfills! 

This regalia is a souvenir for you to keep after the ceremony.

Full Doctoral regalia is not required for this special ceremony. 

You will be required to wear your Doctoral Tam, and we have designed a commemorative Doctoral stole that you may purchase and wear as well.

We look forward to celebrating YOU in this special ceremony on May 19 th .

*Please note: Group orders will not be accepted. Only one complete package may be purchased per order.*

**Please note: You may return your souvenir regalia unopened within 30 days and we will gladly refund you the purchase price less shipping. All returned items must be unopened and in their original packaging.**

Web ordering is now closed.

Please stop by your Columbia University Bookstore if you still need your regalia.

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Learn about our commitment to social justice and health equality and anti-racism.

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Admissions at a glance.

Learn more about Admissions at Columbia Nursing, including important dates and deadlines, and how to apply to all of our programs. 

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The ColumbiaDoctors Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Group, combines evidence-based practice with a personalized approach to provide quality care.

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Global opportunities for clinical practicum and research may be available for MDE and doctoral students at Columbia Nursing.

Commencement

Commencement season is a time to celebrate and enjoy your accomplishments. To honor the spirit and significance of this occasion, we do not permit the interruption of speakers or audience disruptions. All participants and guests attending Commencement season events understand and agree to follow the responsibilities set forth in University policies, including the Rules of University Conduct and Standards and Discipline . Those found in violation will be asked to discontinue and may be asked to leave venue.

Columbia University Commencement

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 9:00am – 10:30am (Graduates Line-Up at 7:30am) Morningside Campus Low Plaza

Columbia University holds University Commencement annually in May for all graduates. The university-wide ceremony is held on the Morningside campus in the quad. All Columbia Nursing degree candidates are invited and encouraged to participate in University Commencement. Academic regalia (cap and gown) is required for all degree candidates. All graduating students are required to register online to participate in University Commencement and to obtain guest tickets ( 2 guests tickets allowed per graduate ). Registration will open on Wednesday, April 3 . Outdoor seating for guests is limited, so make sure your application to graduate is submitted and you register for your tickets early. Once outdoor capacity is reached, indoor locations will be available. Graduating students will receive further registration and guest ticketing information in April.

Visit the  Columbia University Commencement site.

Columbia Nursing Graduation Ceremony

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 10:00am – 12:30pm (Graduates Line-Up at 8:45am) The Armory 216 Fort Washington Avenue at West 168th St

Columbia Nursing holds a ceremony for nursing graduates each May. February, May, and October 2024 graduates are invited to attend the 2024 Columbia Nursing Graduation Ceremony. Academic regalia is required for all masters and doctoral degree candidates.

All graduating students are required to register online to participate in the nursing graduation ceremony. Additionally, tickets will be required for guests to enter the ceremony ( 8 guests tickets allowed per graduate ). 

For directions, view The Armory website:  Map and Directions

Commencement Speaker - Ann Elizabeth Kurth, PhD

Ann Elizabeth Kurth, PhD , president of the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), will be Columbia University School of Nursing’s 2024 Second Century Award recipient and commencement speaker. The award, given each year at graduation, honors an individual who exemplifies excellence in advancing the health and well-being of humanity.

An epidemiologist and certified nurse midwife, Kurth is the first nurse and non-physician to lead the institution. She joined NYAM from Yale University, where she was the Dean and Linda Koch Lorimer Professor at Yale School of Nursing and a professor at Yale School of Public Health.

Her research focuses on HIV/reproductive health and strengthening of global health systems in the context of pandemics, climate change, and other stressors, all of which have a disproportionate effect on structurally marginalized populations. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNAIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and others.

Important Information for Graduates and Guests

Graduating students communications and ticketing information.

Graduating students will be sent information via their CUMC email account. As a reminder, graduating students must register to attend both ceremonies, and will need to request guest tickets for the University Commencement and the Columbia Nursing Graduation Ceremony.

5/14 School of Nursing Graduation Ceremony

Graduates have been sent registration and guest ticket request information. Graduates must register for the ceremony by April 20, 2024, and graduates can request guest tickets until Thursday, May 9, 2024. 

5/15 University Commencement Ceremony

*Registration for University Commencement tickets will open on  Wednesday, April 3 . Outdoor seating for guests is limited, so make sure your application to graduate is submitted and you register for your tickets early. Once outdoor capacity is reached, indoor locations will be available.

Graduates with questions can contact the Office of Student Services at [email protected] .

Doctoral Degree Candidates: Gown, Velvet Tam, Hood

Doctoral graduates wear a gown, velvet tam, and hood. Gowns and hoods can be rented or purchased. Velvet tams must be purchased. Students will need to indicate which program they are graduating from when ordering regalia since this determines the color of the hood:

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD): Standard PhD blue hoods
• Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP): Apricot hoods with green cord lining

There are two ways to receive your regalia:

• On-Site at Columbia Morningside Bookstore: Doctoral students can be measured for their gown and place their rental doctoral gown order at the Morningside Bookstore  starting February 27, 2024  and at the CUIMC Bookstore   starting March 1, 2024 .  Doctoral Regalia may be reserved in-store by April 11 .Gowns can be picked up at the Columbia Morningside Bookstore (2292 Broadway). Rental gowns must be returned to the Morningside bookstore. *Rental Gowns can be reserved in-store by April 11 to avoid incurring a late fee. 
• To  rent  your doctoral regalia online (online ordering accepted from 3/4-4/11):  The recommended date to order rental doctoral regalia online and receive order by the 2024 Graduation Ceremonies is by April 11 .  Visit https://columbia.shopoakhalli.com/purchasewizard/Welcome  for information including deadlines, cost, and to place an order. Please reserve your gown by April 11 to avoid incurring a late fee. Doctoral rental regalia will be available for pickup in-store at the Morningside Campus bookstore beginning April 22 . If graduates don't receive a notification on 4/22, please call the bookstore to check on the status of your regalia, prior to making a trip to the bookstore. A ship-to-home option is not available online.  
• The deadline to  purchase  your doctoral regalia online passed on March 8. *Note: It takes 6-8 weeks for delivery if you are purchasing your doctoral regalia.

For Assistance Purchasing Regalia, call the Columbia University Bookstore at 212-854-4131 or visit the  Columbia University Bookstore website .

Master’s Degree Candidates: Gown, Cap, Tassel

Master’s candidates at Columbia University and its affiliated institutions wear a cap (mortarboard) with tassel and gown. No hood is worn. Master’s degree candidates purchase souvenir student regalia (items are yours to keep) and you do not need to pre-order your gown. There are two ways to receive your regalia:

• On-Site at Columbia Morningside and CUIMC Bookstores:  Students can purchase their regalia on site at the Morningside Bookstore  starting February 27, 2024 and at the  CUIMC Bookstore  starting March 1, 2024 . Pre-ordering is not necessary for Master’s gowns. Gowns can be picked up at the Columbia Morningside and CUIMC Bookstores until Commencement day (though students are encouraged to pick up their regalia early).
• Order Online to be shipped (online ordering accepted from 3/4-3/22):  Out-of-town students can have their gown shipped to them (for a fee) through the Morningside Bookstore starting March 4 . Visit https://columbia.shopoakhalli.com/purchasewizard/Welcome  for information including deadlines, cost, and to place an order.  *Note: Online ordering ends  March 22 . To place an order after March 22 , please visit the Columbia Morningside and CUIMC Bookstores.

Disability Services

Guests with disabilities, limited mobility, or the elderly needing assistance should enter the Armory at 216 Fort Washington Avenue – there is a ramp available. Event Host staff will have wheelchairs available to help escort guests needing assistance to the seating area. No reservation is required for assistance with seating – guests only need a guest ticket to enter.

Graduates requiring accommodations, including those whose disabilities limit their ability to walk or negotiate stairs, should contact Disability Services at [email protected] or (212) 304-7029.  May 1  is the deadline for requesting sign language interpretation for a ceremony.

5/15 University Commencement

View commencement accessibility information here .

Directions, Parking Information, and Travel Resource

Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is located west of Broadway on 168th Street. The School of Nursing Graduation Ceremony is held at the Armory (216 Fort Washington Avenue at West 168th Street).

Parking  on campus is extremely limited on campus. This is especially compounded during Commencement like events when thousands of additional guests visit our campus. Guests are encouraged to take public transportation; information on alternative transportation (instead of driving) is  available here . Including but not limited to:

• Public Transportation such as the MTA Bus and Subway system
• Train or Interstate Bus

Visitors and Personal Travel Resource

https://www.worldtravelinc.com/columbia.visitors.portal

Columbia University offers negotiated car and hotel rates for campus visitors. To book a car or hotel reservation new users must  create an account  to access the Visitors Online Booking Tool. Registered users may  sign in  to the Visitors Online Booking Tool to book Columbia negotiated rates or to change/cancel an existing reservation. Visitor and personal travel may only be booked online and users must carefully review details, rules and cancellation policies of each hotel and car rental supplier prior to completing a booking as some rates selected may be completely non-refundable and non-changeable.

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Columbia University Graduation Cap and Gown Packages

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GSAPP Graduation Ceremony, May 13, 2023

The GSAPP Graduation Ceremony is held on the South Lawn (between Low Memorial Library and Butler Library), and is followed by receptions in Havemeyer Plaza and Avery/Schermerhorn Plaza.

Please see below for important details as you and your guests prepare for the event. This webpage will be updated with additional information throughout the coming weeks. You may reach out to [email protected] with any questions in the meantime.

Please also see the University’s Commencement webpage , the Columbia FAQ for Graduates , and the GSAPP Commencement FAQ for more information.

Please click here to view GSAPP’s Graduation Ceremony live stream.

The schedule is as follows:

• 10:00am Student check-in opens, graduates begin line-up in Lerner Hall
• 11:00am Gates open for guests
• 12:00pm Ceremony begins with Graduate Procession to South Lawn
• 2:00pm Receptions begin in Havemeyer Plaza and Avery/Schermerhorn Plaza
• 6:00pm Receptions end

Regalia is mandatory for all graduation events including the GSAPP Ceremony on May 13. All academic attire, including the cap and gown, is ordered through the Columbia University Bookstore either in-person at Lerner Hall, or through the Online store .

For more information on academic attire, graduation announcements, class rings, and diploma frames, please call the Bookstore directly at 212-854-4132.

• Master’s Degrees: Last day to order Bachelor and Master Regalia: April 12, 2023.
• Doctoral Degrees: Last day to order Doctoral Regalia: March 29, 2023.

Please see Columbia’s regalia webpage for more information regarding regalia.

All graduates who intend to walk at the 2023 GSAPP Graduation ceremony need to register online in advance, regardless of their need for guest tickets. The registration website will be live in late March and graduates will receive an email inviting them to complete this step through the Marching Order website.

On that site, graduates will be able to:

• Register to confirm walking with your program (dual degree students will choose one program)
• Complete the Photo Consent Form (GradImages)
• Record your name for the preferred pronunciation
• Complete the Alumni Survey to stay in contact after graduation

Each eligible graduate will be able to use AudienceView to order up to four (4) guest tickets for GSAPP Graduation Ceremony on May 13, and up to two (2) guest tickets for the University Commencement on May 17. Graduates do not need their own ticket for the May 13 GSAPP Graduation Ceremony, but they will need a ticket for the May 17 University Commencement.

To get the tickets, visit https://columbiagrad.universitytickets.com/ and log in using your username and temporary password. Username: [email protected] Temporary Password: Columbia2023

After logging in, you will be directed to the “Ticket Office Home,” where you will see all events that you are eligible to attend.

Select up to four (4) guest tickets for the “Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Ceremony” on May 13. Click “Add More To Cart” to return to the main page.

Select up to two (2) guest tickets and a graduate ticket for “2023 University Commencement” on May 17.

Once you have finished adding the tickets to your cart and entering the required checkout information, please hit the green “Checkout” at the bottom of the page to complete your registration.

After checking out, you’ll be directed to the Order Confirmation page. Your Order # and Order details can be found on this page, where you can download your graduate and guest tickets. You will also receive an email confirmation with your Order #, important event information, a link to access your mobile tickets, and a link to download the pdf version of your tickets.

After the initial registration period closes, graduates will have the opportunity to request up to two (2) additional tickets for the May 13 GSAPP Graduation Ceremony on a first-come, first-served basis. Details will be shared once the initial registration period closes.

For more information about tickets to the May 17 University Commencement, please visit Columbia’s ticketing FAQ webpage .

Diplomas are issued by the Office of the University Registrar.

Based on the degree conferral date for all graduates in April, May, and June of 2023, diplomas will be mailed to the “Diploma Address” that is on file in SSOL.

Please visit the University Registrar website for more information.

Applications for 2024 Columbia Summer Session programs are now open!

Graduate checklist.

The following checklist is for all Class of 2024 graduates who will be participating in the May 2024 SPS Graduation. Please read each item below carefully and take note of all upcoming deadlines.

Graduate Checklist:

Share day-of information for guests.

Graduates are expected to properly prepare their guests to attend their assigned ceremony. There will be a required check-in process upon arrival. Please share this webpage with all guests who will be attending SPS Graduation in person.

Purchase your Cap and Gown

Caps and gowns, also known as regalia, are required for all graduates wanting to participate in SPS Graduation and/or University Commencement. Per university tradition, master's degree recipients do not receive a hood. For graduates who failed to order their regalia on time, caps and gowns may be purchased in person from the Columbia University Bookstore, while supplies last.

Orders can be placed in-store beginning  February 27 . Online orders, to be shipped to the student, can be placed at  columbia.shopoakhalli.com , beginning on March 4  and ending March 22.   After March 22nd, you can order at columbiabookstore.com .

More Information

Register for SPS Graduation Info Sessions

Please join the Office of Student Life for virtual Graduation information sessions on Monday, March 25th and Friday, April 19th. At these sessions, the Office of Student Life will go over all information pertaining to SPS Graduation from check-in to guest information. If you are unable to attend, a recording will be made available upon request. 

• REGISTER HERE for the Monday, March 25th information session
• REGISTER HERE for the Friday, April 19th final details information session

Complete the Career Outcomes Survey

This is your chance to share your post-graduation plans with Columbia! Whether you're moving into a new career, leveling-up with your current employer, continuing your education, or continuing your job hunt, the information you share will help the Career Design Lab refine their programs and services to best serve SPS students and alumni. Your individual results will be kept confidential and all data will be reported in the aggregate.

Log into SPSTalent and let us know your plans today!

RSVP for a Graduation Headshot Session

SPS Graduates are invited to sign up for a 15-minute headshot session with Grad Images! In order to participate, students must sign-up, in advance, for a timed entry slot and have their own cap and gown in hand so that it can be worn in their photos. The photography session is free and digital and/or physical prints can then be purchased by the student or their family. No purchase or commitment is required. There are TWO dates being offered, so please be sure you only sign up for one date and time slot.

• Wednesday, April 17, 2024 from 9:30 AM to 5 PM ET (Session 1)
• Thursday, April 18, 2024 from 9:30 AM to 5 PM ET (Session 2)

Registration is required and not all graduates are guaranteed a spot. You must have a confirmed spot to sit for a headshot and enter the event. Graduates who arrive late risk losing their spot.

REGISTER HERE for Session 1.

REGISTER HERE for Session 2.

Video and Photo Submissions

SPS Graduates are encouraged to submit photos and videos of their time at Columbia! These contributions will be added to a professional presentation to be shared during graduation to reflect on your time at SPS. 

Explore Your Alumni Benefits: Columbia Alumni Association (CAA)

We encourage graduating students to visit the CAA website to learn more about their alumni benefits and opportunities to get involved with the alumni network. In addition, please visit the SPS Alumni website to learn about additional SPS alumni resources, events and volunteer opportunities.

Activate an SPS Talent Account

SPS Talent is the place for job and internship opportunities, recruiting and networking events with employers, plus ways to share your career plans upon graduation. Students and alumni are encouraged to activate their personal SPS Talent accounts here .

Learn about Disability Accommodations

For information regarding accommodations during SPS Graduation or Columbia University Commencement, please visit the Office of Disability’s website by clicking here . If you still have questions, contact the Office of Disability Services at  disability [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu  or 212-854-2388. 

Diploma Information

Ensure your Diploma mailing address is correct! Diplomas for graduates will be mailed to the “Diploma Address” on file in  SSOL . Graduates will receive their diplomas in the mail up to two months following their conferral date.

Graduates who have not received their diploma within this timeframe should email  diplomas [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu (diplomas[at]columbia[dot]edu)  to inquire further.

Invitation Requests for Visa Acquisition

Students who need an invitation letter for visa-related purposes to invite their friends and family to the ceremonies can contact the International Students and Scholars Office.  Students who are no longer active (alumni) can use the information sent to them by the University, including formal email communications.

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On Columbia’s Campus, a Protest Encampment Grows and Tensions Flare

On a day the university president asked students to stay home, a tent city on a campus lawn kept growing, protesters met in tense confrontations and police and politicians converged to weigh in.

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By Katherine Rosman

Reporting from Columbia University’s campus

• April 22, 2024

With a light blue academic robe tucked under her arm, Professor Marianne Hirsch hurried to get through a security line at a Columbia University entryway on Monday morning. To pass the gates, everyone had to scan IDs, in compliance with an announcement from the university’s administration that only students and faculty would be allowed on campus.

Dr. Hirsch was not on her way to a graduation ceremony, however, but to protest the university’s president, Nemat Shafik. Last Wednesday, Dr. Shafik testified at a tense congressional hearing about antisemitism on college campuses, and the next day she called in the police to empty an encampment of demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza and the university’s ties to Israel. More than 100 students were arrested .

“I am here because of her infringement on academic freedom in the congressional hearing and because of her decision to bring police on to campus to arrest students,” said Dr. Hirsch, a professor emerita in the English and Comparative Literature Department.

Around and on Columbia’s campus on Monday — as protests unfolded under perfect blue skies, just hours before the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover — there was one sentiment shared by nearly everyone, no matter their viewpoint on the war: anger at Dr. Shafik.

Students have been sleeping in tents on campus for several nights, and confrontations between protesters and counterprotesters have occasionally broken out both inside and outside Columbia’s gates. On Monday, the action on Broadway began at about 9:30 a.m., when several dozen people, several wrapped in Israeli flags, listened to a speech from Professor Shai Davidai, who has been a vocal critic of Columbia’s response to antisemitism on campus.

A trio of women who live nearby saw Dr. Davidai’s posts saying he would be at Columbia and felt an urge to attend, despite needing to prepare Passover meals for dozens of guests.

Another woman, Peggy Sarlin, attended the rally swaddled in an Israeli flag. She said she was reminded of a 2004 documentary called “Columbia Unbecoming,” about antisemitism on campus, which was hotly debated at the time of its release .

“No one has done anything to address the problem since then,” she said.

Caroline Bissonnette, a graduate student studying journalism and international affairs, was waiting in the security line to get on campus. She said the protests had been peaceful and any escalation in tension had come as a result of the university’s response. “The biggest disruption has come from the police,” she said.

By 10:30 a.m. a throng of N.Y.P.D. officers began to mass on Broadway, some in riot gear. “Is this necessary?” asked Rabbi Michael Feinberg, who runs an nonprofit that supports worker rights and economic justice, as he walked to an interfaith Earth Day celebration. “I think it’s distressing that things have reached this point where there is this kind of police presence. It is especially sad that this is happening as we prepare to celebrate Passover.”

As the police kept watch, the verbal rancor and tension escalated.

A man holding a sign that said, “Israel Kills 14,000 Kids!” shouted antisemitic slurs at onlookers. A woman who was holding a poster of an Israeli hostage engaged in a shouting match with the man until she began to cry. A man shouting, “Palestine will be free,” was escorted by police officers toward a mobile command center.

A student dressed in a graduation gown and Birkenstocks sipped a coffee as she walked down Broadway. Graduation ceremonies are on May 15, but she was dressed for a photo shoot with her sorority sister. She said she was upset at the restrictions set up so close to graduation, but also at the way students had been treated.

Within the campus itself, workers had already set up chairs for graduation ceremonies. On a lawn nearby, student protesters and reporters milled around a large encampment of about 70 tents decorated with signs and Palestinian flags.

Shouts from the crowds on Broadway could be heard on campus, but inside the gate, the tenor was quieter and less intense. A large crowd of faculty members held a walkout and news conference, then migrated across Broadway to Barnard College to continue their protest over the arrests and suspensions of students.

Groups of students took in the scene. A second-year student who asked to be identified by only her first name, Linda, hung out with friends. She said was pleased to see professors speak out against the arrest of students. She said she supported the protesters’ right to gather and also said she understood why some Jewish students felt unsafe.

Nearby, two Barnard students wearing kaffiyehs — one carrying a large Palestinian flag — made their way toward the encampment after attending a Zoom class in their dorms. They said they did not feel any regret that the end of their school year had been dominated by unrest and protest. One said the cause was more important than their education.

Inside the campus gate near West 117th Street, a mother and son hugged goodbye. They did not share their names, citing safety concerns. She had stopped by to assess his safety, after he told her he no longer felt safe at school.

He has applied to transfer to another university in the fall.

Karla Marie Sanford contributed reporting.

An earlier version of this article misstated the last name of Professor Marianne Hirsch. It is Hirsch not Hirsh.

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Katherine Rosman covers newsmakers, power players and individuals making an imprint on New York City. More about Katherine Rosman

Columbia University in the City of New York

Miriam and ira d. wallach art gallery.

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Moscow: City, Spectacle, Capital of Photography

April 30–june 21, 2003.

Moscow: City, Spectacle, Capital of Photography , an exhibition of 20th-century photographs of Moscow, opens at Columbia University's Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 and remains on display through Saturday, June 21, 2003.

Moscow has been a powerful magnet for many Russian photographers of the 20th century. Moscow: City, Spectacle, Capital of Photography presents the work of 31 photographers, whose images have defined the visual experience of Moscow from the 1920s to the present. Diverse in form and strategy, the 90 photographs chosen for the exhibition trace the history of Russian documentary photography and offer insight into individual practices. From Aleksandr Rodchenko's constructivist visions and Evgenii Khaldei's humanist landscapes to Igor Moukhin's scenes of urban spectacle and alienation in the works of Russia's key 20th-century photographers, Moscow ventures beyond the expected image as a site of famous landmarks, architectural treasures and dramatic lifestyles.

Early 20th-century photographers Boris Ignatovich and Arkadii Shaikhet saw themselves in the vanguard of an emerging mass-media culture, defining with their cameras the visual experience of Soviet modernity. For nearly 70 years, Soviet photography was assigned the duty of maintaining the ideological rigidity of the Soviet State. Yet, as examples of the work of Iakov Khalip, Anatolii Egorov, Mikhail Savin, and Mark Markov-Grinberg show, Soviet photographic practices were much more complex than has been previously acknowledged. The works of these photographers remain intensely compelling to a modernist eye.

Contemporary Russian photographers, such as Lev Melikhov, Valerii Stigneev and Sergei Leontiev, engage with the legacy of the Soviet documentary photography. But for them the documentary is a complex and multivalent genre, which incorporates subjectivity, ambiguity and reflexivity and comments on social and cultural issues without losing sight of the position from which that commentary is made. In the recent photographs by Vladimir Kupriyanov, Igor Moukhin, Anna Gorunova and Pakito Infante, the "real" space of Moscow is replaced by an imaginary and optical spaces of virtuality.

The works in the exhibition are on loan from Moscow's Cultural Center Dom, and many are being shown outside Russia for the first time. In conjunction with the exhibition, the Wallach Art Gallery is publishing an illustrated catalogue with a scholarly essay by the exhibition curator, Nadia Michoustina, a Ph.D. candidate in Columbia University's Department of Slavic Languages. The essay presents a nuanced history of Russian photography of the 20th century, and contributes to an interpretation of extraordinary images.

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Columbia’s campus uprising

Pro-Palestine protests are sweeping America’s elite universities.

By Sohrab Ahmari

The director Alex Garland couldn’t have asked for better real-world headlines to accompany the release of  Civil War , his new dystopian picture of a United States plunged into civil conflict by the inability of Americans to overcome partisan differences. In recent days, that spirit of irreconcilable enmity has seemingly swept America’s elite campuses, with pro- Palestinian students camping out on the quad in defiance of local authorities—and lawmakers in Washington who long ago cashiered law-making for the important work of skewering university administrators in front of cable-news cameras.

The student protest might appear ferocious, and it is, at times, downright ugly. Yet it’s unlikely to approach anything like a 1968 moment, let alone portend the breakdown of civic order.

Columbia University is the movement’s epicentre. I visited the campus on 22 April anticipating turmoil and violence. My expectations were bolstered by the security presence guarding the venerable Ivy League university on New York’s Upper West Side. With an NYPD helicopter hovering overhead and officers ringing the campus and blocking the entrances, you’d think an active-shooter terror threat was unfolding inside.

“I’m sorry, the campus is on lockdown,” said the nice African-American officer I approached at one of the checkpoints. She told me I’d have to coordinate my visit with the university’s PR department. The college flaks, in turn, told me I’d have to wait until the afternoon, when reporters would be granted a two-hour window to visit the protest site; I snuck in with the help of a student.

Entering the campus at Broadway and 117th Street, the first thing I encountered was a group of girls taking duck-lipped group selfies while trying on their light-blue graduation gowns, utterly oblivious to the controversies that have attracted national attention to their alma mater; commencement is coming up soon. My student fixer guided me to the Butler Library’s neoclassical edifice, in front of which the protesting students have pitched a tent city festooned with Palestinian and Pride flags and banners urging, “ADMITTED STUDENTS ENROLL IN THE REVOLUTION” and other slogans of the kind. Keffiyehs abounded, sometimes jarringly matched with midriff tops; young women seemed to dramatically outnumber the men.

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Like the NYPD, the protesters had their own “checkpoint.” As an outsider, I was immediately directed to study a whiteboard spelling out the camp’s “community guidelines”: “We recognize our role as visitors and, for many of us, colonizers. We camp on colonized Lenapehoking land…” “Respect personal boundaries — tight quarters are not an excuse to cross physical boundaries without affirmative consent.” And so on.

Most of the militants were chilling out in front of their tents, and it took not a little effort for one of the leaders to gather them in the centre of the encampment for a sort of reveille. “If you hear me, clap once. If you hear me, clap twice.” Her announcements gave the impression of a typical lefty jamboree: “Please bring toothpaste, we don’t have much, and we want clean teeth.” “There’s going to be a zine workshop.” “There’s going to be Palestinian music.” “We will also be having a drum circle in the art corner back there.” On a more serious note: “Please nobody engage with counter-protesters. Nobody should be speaking with [university] public safety or NYPD except our police liaisons. Nobody should be giving Zionists the time of day.”

The “press corner” not being set up yet, I was granted an ad-hoc interview by Grant Miner, a medieval-studies graduate student with a scruffy beard caked with what looked like dried soap or sunscreen lotion. Miner spelled out the group’s asks: amnesty for students who had been suspended by the administration over earlier campus protests (he being one of them); divestment from Israeli bonds and equity; financial transparency around how the university invests its $14 billion endowment.

Miner categorically denied allegations of anti-Semitic harassment associated with the camp, including footage circulating on Twitter of the campers forming a human chain to block the way to a group of Jewish students, whom the protesters repeatedly called “Zionists” in a creepy sort of call-and-response chant. “I’m not sure what people would be referring to,” Miner said. “I myself am Jewish. The narrative is that … we’re a violent mob, and there’s been no violence here. The only anti-Jewish sentiments I’ve received are from hard-core Zionist Jews calling me a fake Jew. In fact, I got a fun email to my work email calling me, just a subject line, ‘Judenrat.’” He added: “‘Sent from my iPad,’ must be a senior citizen.”

A group of Jewish students I interviewed elsewhere on campus had a different account. Said one: “I’m a student, I’m a senior, I’m a Jew. I’m also not a very religious Jew. I put this [kippa] on in solidarity with my friends who are religious, because I appreciate that I can take it off when they can’t.” He said he was walking around with a group of similarly kippa-wearing friends when one of the campers “started following us, yelling, ‘We’ll f***ing kill you, f***ing kill yourselves.’ ” Outside the university’s gates, he said he heard such slogans as “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground!”

The protesters sully the Palestinian cause with such rhetoric. But a radical threat, a harbinger of civil conflict, or a revolutionary movement, the campus intifada is not. On the contrary, it’s by venting built-up pressures of this kind that democratic states like the US stabilise the social order. And anyway, the bright kids involved are too wedded to the logics of the corporate, safety-ist society against which they rebel to pose any serious challenge to it. It’s hard to imagine streetfighters such as Tom Hayden or Daniel Cohn-Bendit in their heyday tsk-tsking: “We want to ensure people feel comfortable in this space.”

These kids will do just fine in the HR department.

[See also: The bloodbath affair ]

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6 Tips to Have the Best Graduation Photoshoot

May 15, 2023

Graduation photo tips

Whether your high school graduation is approaching or you’re about to be a college grad, you worked hard to get where you are. It’s finally time to throw confetti in the air and say: “I did it!” So let’s honour this moment the best way possible with a great senior or college graduation photoshoot. 📸

Here at Flytographer , we easily connect people with trusted photographers for fun photo shoots and have captured over three million memories worldwide. Today, we asked our community of photographers around the world to let us know what their best tips are for a successful grad shoot. It’s almost time to throw that cap in the air! 🎓

(a little sneak peek for you!)

• Know your why : Your graduation is a unique moment in time that should be documented in photos to look back on.
• Choose the best time of year : Every season is photogenic in its own way, but which one is best for grad photos?
• Decide who to bring : Share this moment with your loved ones, the people who motivated you all along.
• Find the best location : When choosing where to shoot, pick a location that tells your story. 
• What to wear for your grad photos : Your graduation is not just about cap & gown pictures…
• How to look good in grad photos : Here are a few poses to put your mind at ease & look amazing in grad photos!

Kim in Edinburgh

The Royal Mile

“Aly is the most incredible photographer you could ever have! She made everyone feel so comfortable in the shoot that even my boyfriend who absolutely HATES taking photos enjoyed the whole process. Honestly, I think those are the most beautiful photos someone has ever taken of me. I wouldn’t choose anyone else to take my photos and will probably bring her on any other special occasion!”

Aly in Victoria

Custom Route

“Wowowowow, I can’t believe my photos. They came out beautiful and captured everything I was hoping for and more. Carol was amazing to work with. She is so friendly and laid back, and definitely helped cool the atmosphere on a muggy DC morning. I could not recommend her more!”

Carol in Washington

Lincoln Memorial

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