Columbia cancels its main ceremony, while Emory's events will now take place in the suburbs outside its Atlanta campus. The moves come after weeks of protests against the war in Gaza.
Spiegel and Kerr, who have been married since 2017, gave the commencement speech and got honorary degrees from Otis College of Art and Design. Then they surprised graduates with a gift of their own.
"The whole reason I wanted to go back to the fields with my parents is because I wouldn't have the degree and the diploma if it wasn't for them," says Jennifer Rocha, recent graduate of UC San Diego.