GSAS Denies Reconsideration Requests From Students Disciplined Over Encampment Involvement

The Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Administrative Board denied reconsideration requests last month from at least eight of 10 students put on probation in June for their involvement in the pro-Palestine protests last semester.

GSAS was the only graduate school to sanction student protesters for their participation in the 20-day pro-Palestine encampment in Harvard Yard last spring.

Though the Harvard College Administrative Board originally suspended five undergraduates and placed more than 20 on probation, the body reversed its decisions over the summer. Following student appeals and criticisms from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Faculty Council of how the Ad Board had handled the cases, the board downgraded all five suspensions to probations and reduced the length of some of the 20 probations.

While undergraduates placed on probation by the College’s Ad Board were able to appeal their punishments to the FAS Faculty Council, the website outlining GSAS disciplinary procedure states that “a student who is required to withdraw for more than one term can appeal to the FAS Faculty Council.” An appeal process through the Faculty Council is not listed for probations.

At least eight GSAS students applied to the Ad Board for reconsideration on their probation sentences — which ranged from six months to one full academic year — but due to a lack of new evidence in the case, all requests were denied.

Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine Coalition, an unrecognized pro-Palestine student group, criticized the decision in a Tuesday evening statement to The Crimson.

“The failure of the GSAS Administrative Board to follow the precedent set by every other graduate school and the college is deeply unjust,” wrote a HOOP spokesperson. “This is yet another instance of the clear and rampant repression of pro-Palestine speech on Harvard’s campus.”

GSAS spokesperson Bailey Snyder declined to comment for this article, citing a policy of not discussing students’ disciplinary cases.

—Staff writer Maeve T. Brennan can be reached at maeve.brennan@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @mtbrennan.

—Staff writer Angelina J. Parker can be reached at angelina.parker@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @angelinajparker.