Nearly 2,200 students saw the fruit of their labors rewarded Saturday at the University of Colorado Denver’s spring commencement ceremonies. 

However during both the morning and afternoon commencements at the Denver Coliseum, around 50 pro-Palestinian protestors disrupted the ceremonies for around five minutes.

Despite the brief disruptions, graduates received their diplomas and began their “amazing impact” on themselves, their family, their community and the world, CU Denver Chancellor Michelle Marks said during the ceremony.

Nearly 1,300 students received bachelor’s degrees, 900 earned master’s degrees and 90 received PhDs during the college’s two commencement ceremonies.

These students came from 43 states and 29 nations across the world. 

“I hope you stay connected to this Lynx’s family, which is yours forever,” Marks told the graduates. 

Over a third of the graduates were first-generation college students, Marks added during the afternoon commencement. 

“I’m a first-generation student. I’m the first out of my entire lineage,” Angelo Garcia, graduating with a bachelor’s of science in architecture and planning, said.

“It feels like I’m breaking a generational curse. It still hasn’t really hit me, though,” he joked, noting that his family had been congratulating him profusely for the past few weeks.

Garcia, who started his college career in 2019, is one of the many graduates who navigated the trials and tribulations of the 2020 pandemic and its impact on the school year.

“It’s an accomplishment. I couldn’t be more proud,” April Wessels said of her daughter who was graduating with a bachelor’s in architecture. Her daughter did not get to walk the stage when she graduated high school in 2020 due to COVID-19, so Saturday was Wessels’ first time getting to watch her daughter graduate. 

The whole family was smiling ear-to-ear.

“I joked that it was the second-best thing since she graduated from preschool,” John Allen said of his daughter earning her master’s degree.

A protest in the stands

As Chancellor Marks gave her opening speech during the college’s morning commencement ceremony, a group of protesters began chanting and waving flags, stopping the speech and ceremony for around five minutes.

“Get them out of here,” a bystander yelled from the crowd. 

Boos from the crowd and the band drowned out the protesters’ chants and they were escorted from the venue by police. The protesters could later be seen quietly heading to the parking lot to leave. 

“I know there’s a lot going on in the world right now, and there are many places to express your views, including other places at the Coliseum, but today is the day we are celebrating our graduates,” Marks said as the group was escorted away. 

Another group of protesters appeared during the afternoon ceremony, once again stopping the commencement for a only few minutes before being removed.

Protesters, who want economic sanctions against Israel because of its actions in Gaza, first set up a tent encampment on the Auraria campus on April 25 and protests have continued in the two weeks since. 

Protesters threatened to demonstrate at the Metro State University Denver graduation on Friday morning but, according to the school’s president, Janine Davidson, nothing materialized.

The Denver Police Department, which had a presence outside of Saturday’s commencement, noted that the CU Denver event was not ticketed, allowing anyone in. 

Though protesters entered the building during both Saturday ceremonies, the department said that they left peacefully when asked.