After a season of Gaza protests, America’s university graduates are polarised but resilient

Instead, something like normality has broken out. Despite the cancellation of the university-wide commencement, the scene was joyous at the smaller ceremony for Columbia’s main undergraduate college. Many students carried yellow inflated lions, the university mascot. Kathy Fang, the valedictorian, was among a couple of dozen students who wore keffiyehs, in solidarity with Palestinians, and when she walked across the stage to receive her diploma, she carried a sign saying “DIVEST.” But her peaceful protest—like many others at graduations elsewhere—was enveloped by the university’s cap-and-gown rituals. For once the clichés seemed apt. By showing grit over several years, the class of 2024 enjoyed the graduations many craved.