Mass. ACLU Requests Transparency for Encampment Protesters in Letter to Harvard Admin

Updated June 4, 2024, at 10:23 p.m.

The Massachusetts American Civil Liberties Union demanded “more transparency and clarity” from top Harvard administrators after the University withheld degrees from 13 seniors over their participation in the pro-Palestine encampment.

In a letter addressed to Harvard’s interim General Counsel Eileen Finan, the secretary of the Harvard College Administrative Board, and the secretary of the Faculty Council, the ACLU wrote that it is in communication with Harvard students who are “currently seeking relief” from disciplinary sanctions issued by the Ad Board — including “would-be graduating seniors.”

The Ad Board suspended five undergraduates and placed at least 20 more on probation for their participation in the 20-day pro-Palestine encampment in the Yard last month — including 13 graduating seniors who were barred from graduating as a result of the sanctions.

More than 60 students in total — including graduate and undergraduate students — received notices from the Ad Boards of their various schools for their involvement in the encampment, according to Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine organizers. While it remains unclear how many of those cases have been resolved, at least two College students and 10 graduate students are yet to have their hearings, according to one HOOP organizer.

In addition to requesting Harvard “ensure that final decisions are rendered promptly,” the ACLU alleged in its Tuesday letter that students filed requests to the Ad Board for reconsideration of their decisions but have not yet been informed of a time frame by which a decision on their requests will be provided.

Students may request a reconsideration of the Ad Board decisions if new, relevant information becomes available or if there is evidence of a procedural error in their case.

University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement on Tuesday that the College was “committed to applying all policies in a content-neutral manner and per existing regulations as outlined in college and university guidelines.”

The ACLU noted that the Ad Board’s delay in responding to pending requests for reconsideration could jeopardize the student’s ability to launch a timely appeal to the Faculty Council — a 19-member group chaired by Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra.

Students who have been suspended or placed on probation for more than one semester have the option to appeal their Ad Board case to the Faculty Council, but the letter alleged students have heard reports that the Council will “cease its deliberations on July 1 and will not resume its work until the fall.”

“This would mean that if the Ad Board does not issue decisions on reconsideration requests very soon, the Faculty Council will not have time to act on any unfavorable results, and students will lose their chance to receive their diplomas and pursue their graduate studies and other programming for the coming academic year,” the letter stated.

While the Faculty Council will undergo a reshuffling of its members on July 1, it is unclear whether the date also serves as a deadline for the Council’s decisions.

The ACLU added that clarity about time frames will “serve to alleviate some of the great stress” of students and their families “in the face of harsh initial disciplinary decisions that threaten to derail the futures of impacted students.”

“Such steps are consistent with President Garber’s call, in his May 14 email to encampment organizers, for expeditious resolutions of pending disciplinary proceedings that allow students to graduate, as well as principles of basic fairness enshrined in Massachusetts law,” it wrote.

—Staff writer Michelle N. Amponsah can be reached at michelle.amponsah@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @mnamponsah.

—Staff writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at joyce.kim@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.