Harvard Reverses Palestine Solidarity Committee Suspension After 5 Months

The Dean of Students Office restored the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee’s full privileges as an officially recognized student organization, ending the group’s five-month suspension for violating the University’s protest guidelines.

College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo confirmed the group’s reinstatement in a statement on Monday, writing that the PSC had “successfully completed the requirements for reinstatement.”

As a recognized student group, the PSC will be able to access Harvard mailing lists, reserve certain rooms and spaces across the University, and apply for funding through the Harvard Undergraduate Association. The group was also allowed to table at the Student Activities Fair last week.

The PSC, which is the only recognized pro-Palestine student group at the College, was suspended in April and ordered to “cease all organizational activities” for the remainder of the spring semester after it helped organize an unauthorized rally in Harvard Yard. The group had previously been placed on probation.

The decision to suspend the PSC came days before Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine — a coalition of unrecognized student groups — staged a prolonged encampment in the Yard. At the time, a number of pro-Palestine students and faculty — including Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine — denounced the PSC’s suspension as an attack on the freedom to dissent.

Though the PSC was not formally listed as part of the groups that organized the encampment, it shares a significant number of its members with HOOP, which took on the mantle of pro-Palestine activism at Harvard last semester. The PSC and HOOP continue to frequently coordinate their social media posts on Instagram.

The PSC’s reinstatement was not related to last week’s discussion between members of HOOP and Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76, according to Palumbo. He added that the PSC did not have to reapply for recognition from the College.

The PSC wrote in a Monday evening statement that they are “committed to using our newly re- registered status to push the university towards divestment and continue to advocate for Palestinian liberation.”

The move to reinstate the PSC comes alongside the end of the year-long club freeze announced Monday morning, which launched new club registration processes for clubs seeking official recognition from the College.

The PSC, however, said that it will not deviate from its mission of pushing Harvard to divest from companies affiliated with Israel.

“We will continue to call out our university and in particular Harvard College for their draconian measures to restrict protest, free speech, and any support for Palestinian lives amidst a genocide,” the group wrote.

“Registration does not pacify us, and the university’s attempts to silence students will only result in greater resistance,” the PSC added.

—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.