Columbia University has cancelled the main graduation ceremony it had planned for next week amid rising concerns that continued pro-Palestinian student protests could pose safety concerns on campuses across the US.

Columbia said it would abandon its annual university-wide commencement ceremony, scheduled for May 15 on the south lawn of its main Manhattan campus, which has seen protests, a student encampment and arrests by the New York City Police after the brief occupation of a campus building last week.

Instead, it plans to focus on smaller ceremonies for its individual schools, most to be held at its Baker Athletics Complex, far from its main Morningside undergraduate campus. It said the decision followed consultation with students who had indicated the smaller celebrations were “most meaningful to them and their families”.