Police Observed Two College Students Passing “Supplies” Through the Harvard Yard Gate | News

According to the Harvard University Police Department, officers with the Cambridge Police Department observed two Harvard students passing “supplies” from a vehicle to people who had climbed over the fence at Harvard Yard on Monday evening.

The incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. on the 13th day of the pro-Palestinian camp in the Yard at the Canaday Fire Gate, prompting Cambridge police to alert HUPD to the situation. HUPD reported the incident in the department’s daily police logs.

HUPD officers located the two students in the vehicle and sent them “on their way.” Officers also searched for the two people who had gained entry to the yard, but HUPD was unable to locate or identify those people, according to HUPD spokesman Steven G. Catalano.

The police report did not indicate whether officers believed the supplies had been passed over the fence for use in the pro-Palestinian camp.

Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, the unrecognized student group that organized the camp, did not respond to a request for comment.

It is one of at least three incidents in the last four days in which people attempted to climb over the gates of Harvard Yard. In anticipation of a large-scale pro-Palestinian protest, the university restricted access to the Yard to non-Harvard affiliates in late April.

When the camp began on April 24, the university closed the Yard to the public indefinitely and increased its security presence at the few gates through which affiliates can gain access to the Yard.

Cambridge police had no report of the incident. According to CPD spokesman Robert Goulston, officers can call their emergency communications to relay necessary information to HUPD, which does not make a report.

HUPD issued a verbal warning Tuesday afternoon about four people climbing over the 1870th gate behind Holden Hall.

According to Catalano, the four people were identified as “tourists who wanted to see what was happening at the Yard.”

HUPD officers also responded to a report that a person climbed over the fence at Canaday Hall D around 3 a.m. Sunday morning. The officer searched the area with negative results.

It was not clear from the transcript whether officials believed Sunday’s incident was related to the camp.

HUPD officers have maintained a constant presence in the Yard since the occupation began.

HUPD Chief Victor A. Clay said increasing the department’s staff since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. That number will only increase as HUPD has maintained a 24-hour presence at the camp for the past two weeks.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on threads @asher_montgomery.