Columbia University student in handcuffs rips up diploma on commencement stage in act of protest
Other students wore zip ties and carried around 'Free Palestine' signs while wearing Arab garments
A Columbia University student wearing zip-tie handcuffs tore up her diploma on stage Sunday as an act of defiance following recent concerns about anti-Israel demonstrations on campus.
In a livestream video of Columbia's School of Social Work commencement ceremony, a female graduate marched on stage with her arms above her head and wrists bound together by a plastic zip-tie.
She also wore a keffiyeh, a traditional Arab garment, that was laid across her shoulders on top of her light blue graduation robe.
After being handed her diploma, the graduate turned to the audience and ripped it into several pieces. The zip-ties she wore made the process more difficult than anticipated and she eventually threw the tattered paper over her head onto the floor.
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She then removed her graduation cap and showed the crowd its underside. A message was taped inside the headwear but the camera could not discern it.
Many other students in the program coordinated together, wearing various Arabic garments under and on top of their robes and zip-ties to resemble Palestinian war prisoners
top of her cap.
Two other graduates received applause when they showed off a handmade "Free Palestine" sign.
"Thousands of Columbia graduates and their families have already celebrated at Class Day ceremonies that started on Friday and concluded successfully with virtually no disruption," a Columbia spokesperson told LAKSHY DREAM FOUNDATION GLOBAL NEWS Digital.
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