Maybe There is Some Hope
Harvard's Actions are Not Enough, but They're Better Than I Thought We'd Get
So apparently the leadership at Harvard has decided to actually fight back against the people who have overrun their campus. It’s about time. Yes, Freedom of Speech is a thing and it applies even to Judeophobic assholes, but they have the same rights I do.
To wit:
More than 30 undergraduates were asked Monday morning to appear before the Harvard College Administrative Board, which will decide whether students will face disciplinary action for their participation in the pro-Palestine Yard encampment.
“A serious matter has come to the attention of the Administrative Board of Harvard College, and we urgently want to meet with you to discuss this matter and to explain the confidentiality rules and procedures of the Administrative Board,” the letter, which arrived via email, states.
The letter, signed by Assistant Dean and Secretary of the College’s Administrative Board Titus Adeleke, requests students attend a Zoom meeting within the next day with the College’s Ad Board — an administrative body responsible for the application and enforcement of Harvard College policies — alongside their Resident Dean to review the procedures.
This is a good thing. Free Speech is important everywhere, and maybe a little more on college campuses than in other location. Campuses are the place, after all, where out future doctors and lawyers are trained. It is of vital importance that all sides of an argument are allowed to air their point of view whether I happen to agree with it or not.
Of course, I could point out that Conservative speakers have been denied the right to speak on campuses all over the country and that multiple schools have allowed it, but I already wrote that article.
And I do need to add a disclaimer. This immediately follows the above:
Violet T.M. Barron ’26, one of the students who received the Ad Board letter, said the Ad Board process has been “arbitrary” and “at worst, discriminatory.”
“International students who have not been camping received emails from the Ad Board. Students who have not been ID’d received emails from the Ad Board,” Barron, a Crimson Editorial editor, said.
If Barron is being honest here, and that is possible even if she is a Leftist, then something needs to change stat. If international students are being arbitrarily targeted someone needs to apply boot to backside to make it stop.
On the other hand, if those students are in violation of rules outside of just camping on campus then they are still open to punishment. And I wonder about her definition of “ID’d.” If a student was present but their ID was not checked they can still be “ID’d” by either witnesses or electronic surveillance. I don’t know how that shakes out, but saying they weren’t ID’d is nowhere near saying they weren’t there or in violation of the rules.
I’m not sure what the facts are here and I’ll be honest about that. So, if students who have done nothing wrong are being targeted that needs to stop. IF. I’d like to see evidence either way. Barron offers reason to be suspicious but no real proof.
It does appear that there could be some real consequences here though:
The letter attached to Monday’s email contains a confidentiality contract for students and a lengthy explanation of the process of appearing before the Ad Board. After an initial meeting, students submit a written statement to the Secretary and meet with a subcommittee, which produces a report. The student then writes a written response and may choose to appear before the Ad Board with a verbal statement before an outcome is decided.
The letter also quotes from the Undergraduate Student Handbook and threatens to withhold degrees from students who are “not in good standing or against whom a disciplinary charge is pending with the Administrative Board, the Honor Council, or the disciplinary board of another school.”
The emails come after two emails from Dean of Students Thomas Dunne to the entire undergraduate body warning of sanctions over continued participation in the demonstration.
Saturday evening, hours after protesters flew three Palestinian flags from University Hall — which were almost immediately taken down by Yard Operations — seven administrators arrived and entered the encampment to scan and note down the IDs of students within the fenceposted area.
Administrators handed out slips of paper warning of disciplinary action to the students within the encampment.
“Repeat violations of University and School policies will result in increasingly severe sanctions,” the slip stated, adding that “students with pending disciplinary matters may not be granted a degree.”
Now listen. I have a degree from a commuter school. I know how hard I worked for that. I’d be surprised if graduating from Harvard doesn’t require even more work than my degree did. (Although I’d like to see one of those kids get theirs while working full time, going to school full time and carrying for their young child while their spouse was at work, but that’s a totally different issue.) I’d hate to see someone not graduate over a protest.
BUT
They were warned. And if these freaking snot-nosed brats can’t deal with the fact that their real world actions have real world consequences. Even if they’re trying to do things the hard way.
Shortly after students received the Ad Board emails, Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine posted on Instagram.
“ALL OUT TO CAMP NOW,” the post stated. “We need as many people rallying at camp ASAP and staying throughout the day in anticipation of admin’s arrival. They can try to discipline us, but they can't suspend the movement.”
At 10 a.m., immediately following the emails, protesters participating in the encampment gathered for their daily morning meeting. As the meeting concluded, protesters chanted, “Harvard you can’t Ad Board me, Palestine will be free!”
Actually, snowflakes, Harvard can board you and it sounds like they’re about to. I, for one, won’t feel bad for you. Then again, I did a semester on the Holocaust and my capstone paper was all about the Holocaust and the participation of the German military in it. I won’t shed a tear, kids. The Nazis didn’t follow rules either. You’ll only bring that here over my dead body.