Harvard's Crackdown on Pro-Palestinian Activism Sparks Outrage and Protest on Campus

Harvard University is facing significant backlash over its recent crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests, leading to the suspension of at least 60 law students and around 25 faculty members from library access following a series of “study-in” demonstrations. 

The latest incident occurred when law students staged a silent protest at Harvard’s Langdell Library, displaying flyers condemning Israel’s ongoing actions in Gaza.

In an email to the affected students, Amanda Watson, assistant dean for library and information services at Harvard Law School, stated that students were being sanctioned for participating in an “organized demonstration.” She wrote, “Participants assembled in the Langdell Reading Room to capture people’s attention through the coordinated display of flyers provided by the demonstration organizers.” 

In response, more than 50 students protested against the suspensions, rallying in the library with messages taped to their laptops, including “Harvard Divest from Death” and “Israel bombed a hospital again.” 

Harvard Law School Student Government co-presidents Deborah Alexis and John Fossum criticized the administration’s actions, stating, “Students were confronted by administrators and IDed in the library today for merely studying while wearing a keffiyeh scarf or having a Palestine sticker on their computer.” They described the university’s space policies as “unintelligible and indefensible.” 

Micah Herskind, a second-year law student who participated in the protest, expressed frustration over the university's response: “We just sat in the library and I worked on a cover letter. There was no disruption. There was no noise.” 

Another student, Irene Ameena, added, “They asked me for my ID. I explained that this was pretty disruptive because I was trying to do my criminal procedure readings.” 

Herskind further asserted, “Our university’s dollars, our tuition dollars, are funding the atrocities that we’re seeing every day,” and Ameena emphasized, “This money is going directly towards Israeli occupation, to Israeli apartheid, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.” 

The protests were a broader effort by student organizations like Law Students for a Free Palestine, Dissent Collective, and Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine. This latter group previously organized a 20-day encampment in Harvard Yard. 

The escalating tensions at Harvard mirror national trends on U.S. college campuses, where protestors are raising their voices against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, which has now entered 383 days and resulted in the brutal killing of 42,847 innocent Palestinians and 100,544 wounded, prompting university administrations to impose stricter restrictions on campus activism. 

Martha Whitehead, head of the Harvard Library system, defended the university’s actions, stating, “We’re concerned that even when there is no noise, an assembly of people displaying signs changes a reading room from a place for individual learning and reflection to a forum for public statements.” She elaborated in her essay on why “study-ins” should not be allowed, claiming that seeking attention through such actions is disruptive. 

The controversy surrounding Harvard’s handling of pro-Palestinian activism comes in the wake of a significant drop in donations, reportedly down 14% in the fiscal year ending June 2024, amidst increasing pressure from prominent alumni and donors over the university’s response to campus protests. 

Notably, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has criticized the university’s handling of these events and led campaigns that resulted in the resignation of former president Claudine Gay. 

In the face of these challenges, student and faculty supporters continue to advocate for open dialogue and the right to express dissent. Professor Andrew Crespo remarked, “We’re trying to highlight for the university just how wrongheaded it is for a place that’s dedicated to the free exchange of ideas to start punishing its students and now its professors for sitting quietly in a library reading just because it doesn’t like that.” 

As tensions remain high, the discourse surrounding freedom of expression and the role of academic institutions in political matters continues to evolve. Students are asserting their rights to protest and voice their perspectives amid an increasingly polarized landscape.