Harvard student protesters reach agreement to end pro-Palestine campus encampment

Josh Marcus
·2 min read
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Harvard student protesters reach agreement to end pro-Palestine campus encampment

Student protesters have reached an agreement with Harvard University to end a 20-day pro-Palestine encampment that’s been occupying a central green at the prestigious university.

Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine (HOOP), the activist coalition which coordinated the encampment as part of its campaign to get the university to cut financial ties with the Israeli military apparatus, announced the deal on Instagram on Tuesday.

“Encampments are a tactic — a big and beautiful one — in a larger strategy of divestment,” the group wrote in a statement. “Here at Harvard, we believe the utility of this tactic has passed, and we have decided to re-group and carry out this protracted struggle through other means.”

“We are under no illusions: we do not believe these meetings are divestment wins,” HOOP added. “These side-deals are intended to pacify us away from full disclosure & divestment.”

Following negotiations with the student activists, the school agreed to reinstate 22 students from involuntary leaves of absence for their participation in the encampment, according to the Harvard Crimson university newspaper.

People walk past the remnants of an encampment of tents in Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass (AP)
People walk past the remnants of an encampment of tents in Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass (AP)

The school also offered HOOP a meeting with members of university leadership involved in setting guidance for stock purchases within Harvard’s $50bn endowment.

“There will continue to be deep disagreements and strongly felt emotions as we experience pain and distress over events in the wider world,” Harvard president Alan M Garber wrote in an email Tuesday to Harvard affiliates following the deal. “Now more than ever, it is crucial to do what we do at our best, creating conditions for true dialogue, modeling ways to build understanding, empathy, and trust, and pursuing constructive change anchored in the rights and responsibilities we share.”

This spring, protest encampments have formed at universities across the United States.

University administrations have taken starkly different approaches to engaging with these demonstrations.

Some schools, like Brown University, forged a deal with protesters to end their encampment in exchange for putting forward a vote on Israeli divestment.

Others, like Columbia University, have failed to reach agreements with students, and have instead called riot police to campus to clear out the demonstrators.