5 Harvard students suspended, more than 20 face suspended sentences for participating in the camp | News

Updated May 18, 2024 at 12:50 a.m

The Harvard College Board of Regents suspended five students and placed more than 20 students on probation Friday night for their involvement in the 20-day pro-Palestine encampment at Harvard Yard, according to two Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine organizers and a faculty member with knowledge Situation.

At least one graduating senior must withdraw from the college for three semesters, and a rising junior must withdraw from the college for two semesters. The college will also prevent at least 12 seniors from graduating at the commencement ceremony, which will take place in six days.

Of the 12 graduates, two were among the five students forced to leave the college on Friday.

Suhaas M. Bhat ’24, a Rhodes Scholar-elect, announced that he was placed on probation at the start of the Class of 2024 Senior Talent Show, where he was originally scheduled to help judge.

“Harvard is not allowing me to graduate this semester because of my participation in camp,” Bhat told the crowd of seniors at Sanders Theater. “I think it’s a good time to think about what it means to go to this university, what it means to have freedom of speech and what moral obligations we have when 40,000 innocent people die.”

Bhat wrote in a statement that he was charged by the Ad Board with “involvement” in the camp and violating Harvard’s university-wide Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

However, Bhat wrote that while the Ad Board subcommittee responsible for evaluating his case found him not guilty of violating the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, “the entire Ad Board voted to place me on academic probation.” and thus deny me the qualification”.

College spokesman Jonathan Palumbo wrote in a statement that the college is “committed to applying all policies in a content-neutral manner and in accordance with existing regulations, as set forth in college and university policies.”

Palumbo declined to comment on the specific ad board allegations against students.

The disciplinary action comes after a group of organizers with Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine — a coalition of pro-Palestinian student groups — met with interim university president Alan M. Garber in 1976 to negotiate a peaceful end to the camp. Organizers announced their decision to close the camp on Tuesday after an initial failed attempt to reach an agreement to end the protest.

At least 60 students initially received notices requiring them to appear before the Ad Board regarding their involvement in the camp. It is unclear how many cases remain unsolved.

On Wednesday, the university reinstated more than 22 students — including at least 13 undergraduates — from involuntary furloughs last week. The reinstatements were part of Garber’s agreement with HOOP organizers to end the camp, which included a meeting with university board members about the divestment.

Involuntary leaves of absence are different from disciplinary proceedings before the Ad Board.

Several students who faced disciplinary action also said they were under the impression that Garber’s administration would give students leniency if they voluntarily quit the camp.

Garber wrote in an email to HOOP organizers Tuesday morning after the camp ended that he would “encourage governing boards or other disciplinary bodies within schools to address cases expeditiously based on existing precedents and practices (including, where appropriate, taking into account the voluntary decision). to leave the camp) for all students, including students who will be eligible to graduate thereafter, to enable them to do so.”

However, a copy of the email reviewed by The Crimson does not contain any explicit assurances from Garber that the Ad Board would be lenient in its decisions.

Christina A. Jump — the head of the Muslim Legal Fund of America’s civil litigation division, who accused Harvard of anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim bias in a civil rights complaint on behalf of a dozen students — said her team intends to “continue full disclosure to the Office for Civil Rights.” continue and clearly communicate that these students have been given false impressions.”

“We are disappointed that Harvard is, at best, engaging in a word game that misleads students into accepting the agreement they did and, at worst, constitutes illegal retaliation,” Jump said.

Several students against whom Ad Board charges were filed argued that the disciplinary consequences were unfair and disproportionate to charges made against students in the past.

Bhat, whose Rhodes scholarship may now be in jeopardy because of the suspended sentence, shared part of his ad board statement in response to a request for comment.

Bhat wrote that he won the fellowship “in part because of my work as a fossil fuel divestment activist.”

“Do these awards mean anything if I don’t actually live by the principles they recognize?” he added. “Am I no longer an ideal Harvard student if I demand that the university live up to its own principles?”

– Staff Writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.

—Staff writer Neil H. Shah can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @neilhshah15.