Pro-Palestinian protesters at Harvard University organized on Sunday to stage their second major rally this semester, criticizing the school for what they called its “repression” of free speech activities as its administration attempts to crack down on antisemitism.
Rallygoers called on Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to cast her vote against a military aid bill to Israel. The protest came after interim President Alan Garber warned protesters they were not allowed to restrict access to “campus buildings, classrooms, administrative offices, or other spaces.”
The protest was organized by multiple groups, including the African and African American Resistance Organization, Harvard Graduate Students for Palestine, and the Boston Party for Socialism and Liberation, according to the Harvard Crimson. More than 200 people attended. Protesters marched to the Cambridge home of Warren, who is also a professor emerita at the Harvard Law School.
“Warren, Warren, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” rallygoers chanted. “Warren, Warren, you’re a liar, we demand a ceasefire.”
Student speaker Kojo Acheampong, who helped found the African and African American Resistance Organization, said he and his “comrades over at Harvard have faced repression.”
“We’ve seen what it’s like. We’ve seen what the university tries to do to stop a movement,” Acheampong added, the Harvard Crimson reported.
Harvard University Palestine Solidarity Committee, a recognized student group, did not help organize the rally, but it did raise awareness of the activities by circulating an email. According to Harvard policies, official groups are not allowed to co-sponsor campus events with groups that are not recognized. Some of the organizers of Sunday’s rally are not recognized groups.
The Solidarity Committee posted to Instagram on Friday, criticizing Harvard’s clarified protest policies, which the group described as “ridiculous,” adding, “PSC is under intense, disproportionate and frankly, racist scrutiny from the Harvard administration.” The post was titled “F*** Institutional Repression.”
Last month, Harvard officials essentially reaffirmed long-standing school policies on protests, many of which were created in the context of anti-Vietnam War protests, reminding students and faculty of the places that are off-limits to protest and also highlighting policies that restrict protesters from stopping the speech of invited speakers.
“I think, as we all have seen, in the recent administration statements, there has been continued crackdown and pressure on student organizers on Harvard’s campus,” a Solidarity Committee organizer told the Harvard Crimson. “But we will continue to be active on campus and present a wide variety of ways to mobilize Palestine.”
Many of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have taken place since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel have been conducted by unauthorized groups, a trend the campus newspaper reported is increasing. That has sometimes resulted in disciplinary action for certain students, some of whom participated in a Jews for Palestine 24-hour occupation of University Hall.
Harvard has been taking heat from supporters of both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Some pro-Palestinian groups have filed complaints against Harvard for civil rights violations, and last week, the Department of Education announced it was launching an investigation into whether the school failed to protect Muslim, Palestinian, and other Arab students from threats, intimidation, and harassment.
Likewise, the Education Department opened a corollary investigation into similar complaints of harassment and discrimination against Jewish students. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has also threatened Harvard with subpoenas, claiming the school has not complied with the committee’s investigation into its response to antisemitism on campus.
