Students at Harvard join pro-Palestinian protests by establishing encampments on school yard
Hundreds of students gathered outside Harvard’s University Hall Wednesday, protesting the university’s suspension of the Palestine Solidarity Committee.
Protestors took over the lawns at Harvard Yard setting up encampments as part of standing in solidarity with their peers from Columbia University in New York demanding their school call for a ceasefire in the war.
Video posted by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee shows a large group moving quickly to set up tents and establish their encampment.
The Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee and Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine groups are calling their encampments a “liberation zone for Gaza.”
Literature doctoral student Christian Deleon said he understood why the Harvard administration may be trying to avoid protests but said there still has to be a place for students to express their thoughts.
“We should all be able to use these spaces to protest, to make our voices heard,” he said.
The ACLU of Massachusetts responded to Harvard’s decision to protest saying “universities should be a marketplace for ideas.”
“These are challenging times for educational institutions, but the probation imposed on this student group — the only recognized pro-Palestinian student organization at Harvard College — constitutes a breach of contract, violates Harvard’s duty to provide basic fairness in disciplinary proceedings, and may otherwise be unlawful because of its impact on free speech and associational rights,” said Carol Rose, Executive Director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “While Harvard is undoubtedly facing immense pressure, including from Congress, to clamp down on student protest, it is incumbent upon Harvard to apply its policies fairly, consistently, and without regard to viewpoint.”
‘Imminent law enforcement action’: Emerson protesters in violation of city ordinances, school says
Similar scenes of student-led, pro-Palestinian encampments started at MIT, Emerson College, and Tufts University earlier in the week. However, dozens of those tents remain Wednesday afternoon.
Emerson College says the students encamping in Boylston Place Alley in protest of the War in Gaza are in violation of Boston city rules.
School officials say that Bolyston Place is partially owned by the college but is also a public right-of-way. In a statement, Emerson College says the encampment violates ordinances prohibiting tents in a public right-of-way. There have also been violations involving blocking pedestrian access to the alley, excessive noise in public, and fire hazards posed by blocking doors and hydrants, Emerson says.
The MIT Israel Alliance called their encampment “anti-Jewish.” The group has said that many Jewish students are afraid to visit the school’s Hillel building fearing potential violence and that some have even evacuated their dorms.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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