Mayor Wu Says She Respects Decision of Student Groups to Withdraw Support From Harvard Talk

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ’07 suggested she was prepared to use a canceled Harvard talk scheduled for Tuesday to discuss her controversial decision to authorize police to clear a pro-Palestine encampment at Emerson College, but said she respects the “preferences” of student groups that withdrew from sponsoring the event over her decision.

“I’d fully planned to engage in discussion with students about ongoing events and news, and to welcome their feedback, but I respect their preferences to use our time elsewhere and wish everyone well with the end of the school year,” Wu wrote in a statement to The Crimson.

Wu was originally scheduled to speak at an event organized by the Asian American Foundation and co-sponsored by several other Asian affinity student organizations, but she chose not to come after the groups withdrew on Saturday.

The 11 groups that withdrew from the event requested that their logos be removed from promotional materials for the talk after Wu’s involvement with sending a police response to pro-Palestine protesters at Emerson College.

A police squad in riot gear arrested more than 100 protesters at Emerson and dismantled a pro-Palestine encampment on a public walkway next to campus early Thursday morning.

Wu told the Boston Globe that she and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox jointly agreed to authorize the police response in a Friday statement.

“The Commissioner and I jointly agreed that the growing encampment needed to be removed in order to address the public safety and fire hazards that it presented,” Wu wrote Friday. “I have full trust and confidence in Commissioner Cox’s leadership and judgment to ensure safety across our city, and I am grateful to our police officers for their daily service.”

But after the removal, several student organizations withdrew from co-sponsoring the event in text messages obtained by The Crimson. One member of the South Asian Association said the group was “not comfortable” affiliating with the mayor following the “violent police presence” at Emerson.

In her statement to The Crimson, Wu said the event was the result of several requests from student groups to speak at Harvard.

“This event had been scheduled after receiving requests from several Harvard student organizations over the course of the school year to visit campus,” Wu wrote in the statement.

Wu added that she tries to “give back” by speaking at student events, citing her memories of attending similar events as a Harvard undergraduate.

“I hardly ever leave Boston, even to go across the river, given my responsibilities as Mayor and all the demands on my time in the city — but I try to make some time each year to give back and engage with students looking to learn more about the realities of government and politics today,” Wu wrote.

The organizations that withdrew from sponsoring the event include the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association, Harvard Asian American Women’s Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Chinese Students Association, Harvard Korean Association, Harvard Undergraduate Philippine Forum, Harvard South Asian Association, Harvard Undergraduate Hawai’i Club, Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association, Harvard Undergraduate Tibetan Cultural Association, Harvard Taiwanese Cultural Society, and the Task Force for Asian American Progressive Advocacy and Studies.

—Staff writer Madeleine A. Hung can be reached at madeleine.hung@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.