Pro-Palestinian protesters camped out in Harvard University Yards and Interim University President Alan M. Garber '76 are in a stalemate, with each side running out of time to wait for the other to end.
Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, a student coalition of pro-Palestinian organizations organizing the occupation, reported an increase in the number of protesters camping over the weekend, when most students were unable to access dining halls or on-campus housing. It decreased significantly. And some of the camp's most active organizers were barred from campus as the university placed them on involuntary leave of absence.
Meanwhile, Garber is 10 days away from Commencement, Harvard University's annual commencement ceremony held at Harvard Yard, just down the street from the camp.
HOOP says it will not end the occupation until the university withdraws from Israel. Gerber insisted that Harvard “has no intention” of divestment and that the camp must end in order for admissions to proceed as planned.
Both sides have escalated their actions in recent days. Administrators placed 22 of her students on involuntary suspension from school. The next day, protesters used bolt cutters to break the locks securing Harvard's Johnston Gate as 150 protesters gathered outside the gate.
Officers from the Harvard University Police Department responded Monday afternoon, taking photos of encampment members inside their tents, but this is the first time police have entered the encampment itself since the camp began, and police may respond. This is the clearest demonstration to date of the high level of gender.
“Several HUPD members walked in and around the encampment to monitor the situation,” HUPD spokesman Stephen G. Catalano said in a statement.
“Several photographs were taken documenting the activities and people involved in the encampment,” he added. “None of these photos will be published.”
For the past 20 days, pro-Palestinian protesters have occupied the Yard in an effort to pressure Harvard University to withdraw from Israel amid a brutal attack on Gaza. The university has not yet sent police to clear the encampment, and Gerber himself claimed there is a “high bar” to doing so, but there is no way administrators could do so without negotiating with HOOP. It is becoming increasingly unclear whether the encampments will be cleared.
A Harvard spokesperson declined to comment on the school's next steps.
Although Harvard University has taken various disciplinary and administrative measures, it has not attempted to physically remove the camps themselves. But as graduation rapidly approached, administrators realized their strategy had a time limit.
The disciplinary action outraged many faculty members, but HOOP has repeatedly said it intends to remain on campus until Harvard meets its demands.
In 11th-hour pseudo-negotiations between Garber and encampment members, Garber offered HOOP to “discuss donation-related questions” if the encampment was cleared.
HOOP calls for establishing a public records model for investment information, phasing out direct investments in “illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories,” establishing a dedicated center for Palestine research, and a commitment to refuse gifts from donors. I responded by requesting corrections. It is involved in Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories.
HOOP argued that its counteroffer “represents a compromise.” Garber said the counteroffer amounted to denying protesters the first exit offered to them to clear the encampment.
HOOP's persistence likely dashed any hopes within the university to simply wait for the protests to subside. Still, it's unclear whether Garber intends to derail Harvard's graduation ceremony because of his campaign, despite specifically mentioning the possibility in a May 6 email to officials.
“Members of the Class of 2024 have the right to enjoy this milestone without any hindrance or hindrance,” Gerber wrote.
“It would be especially painful if students who graduated from high school or college during the pandemic were again denied a full graduation ceremony,” he added.
Graduation ceremonies are likely to be a higher priority this year to instill confidence in donors and alumni, especially after the fall semester had a negative impact on fundraising and trust in university leadership.
Immediately after the graduation ceremony, Harvard plans to welcome thousands of alumni to the Yard for a reunion, but relations with alumni remain dissatisfied with Harvard's initial response and widespread concerns about Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The event's importance is growing as the university attempts to restore it. Anti-Semitism on campus.
Garber doesn't want to cancel major graduation ceremonies like those at Columbia University, and instead wants to force the encampment to be cleared.
And because the campground remains on university private property without permission, Harvard could potentially charge protesters with trespassing, an allegation that students on involuntary leave may not be allowed to use on campus property. This is supported by the fact that they are in breach of their leave conditions by remaining within the country.
Despite widespread backlash, at least 64 other universities across the country have asked local authorities to arrest or detain student protesters.
HOOP has made it clear that it will only leave the camp if its demands are met or if there is a police escort.
“Harvard won't negotiate. They don't care if we stay here,” HOOP wrote in an Instagram post.
—Staff writer Emma H. Haidar can be reached at emma.haidar@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @HaidarEmma.
—Staff writer Cam E. Kettles can be reached at cam.kettles@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @cam_kettles Or in the thread @camkettles.