Columbia University activist and student Mohsen Mahdawi graduated on Monday — after he was released from ICE jail late last month. As he crossed the stage, students erupted in thunderous applause. Democracy Now! spoke with Mahdawi after the ceremony. “I am coming here to be in the middle of this fire because I am a peacemaker, because I am a firefighter,” says Mahdawi, who plans to attend Columbia University’s graduate School of International and Public Affairs in the fall.