Chalk of the Town: Professors Colorfully Protest Harvard’s New Campus Use Rules

A small group of Harvard faculty members chalked messages on the sidewalk below the John Harvard statue Tuesday afternoon to protest the University’s new policies restricting campus protests, including bans on chalking and unapproved signage.

The five professors — Steven R. Levitsky, Walter Johnson, Ryan D. Enos, Richard F. Thomas, and Hibah Osman — condemned the prohibitions, rolled out in August as part of a new slate of campus use rules, as a threat to students’ free speech.

Some of the chalked messages were pointed: “Why do preschoolers have more academic freedom than Harvard students?” read one.

“Long chalk to freedom,” read another. Nearby, a string of pink letters spelled out a warning: “Caution: Chalk is dangerous.”

Other messages struck a different tone, welcoming students to campus and declaring: “I love puppies!”

The faculty members also propped up a trio of posters criticizing the requirement that signs and displays affixed to Harvard property must first be approved by the University.

A Harvard University Police Department officer took photos of the professors and the chalked messages. And the messages were washed away less than an hour after they were written.

The chalked messages were washed away shortly after they were written. By Julian J. Giordano

Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo declined to answer questions on whether administrators had authorized the removal and the HUPD presence.

“An issue was reported and addressed in accordance with normal protocols,” he wrote in an email.

In addition to the chalking and signage limits, Harvard’s campus use rules include some common sense provisions, like restrictions on alcohol and open flames. But they also include efforts to tamp down protest tactics — like a camping ban and a requirement that events be sponsored by recognized organizations.

The new rules put Harvard on a long list of schools nationwide — including the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, Florida State University, and Indiana University — that have tightened protest rules in preparation for another semester of demonstrations around the war in Gaza.

University President Alan M. Garber ’76 and Harvard Executive Vice President Meredith L. Weenick ’90 highlighted the rules in emails to Harvard affiliates before the start of the fall semester. Weenick warned that affiliates who violate the policies could face disciplinary action or be stopped by Harvard police.

Levitsky, a Government professor, described the chalking ban — and the threat of punishment — as “completely antithetical to the kind of democratic society that I want to live in.”

Levitsky said he hoped the protest would call students’ attention to the regulations and signal that student protesters have support among the faculty.

“We don’t necessarily or always support their cause, but we staunchly support the right to express themselves, their right to express what might be unpopular views, and their right to protest,” he said.

Johnson, a History and African and African American Studies professor, criticized the restrictions in an emailed statement.

“The number of rules limiting and defining the boundaries of acceptable expression made by the university administration over the summer is dizzying,” he wrote. “Their approach seems to be to assert incredibly broad authority over expression which then allows them a great deal of latitude to selectively enforce regulations.”

As students and tourists strolled through Harvard Yard Tuesday afternoon, most seemed unbothered by the faculty demonstration. Families snapped photos by the statue. Enos, a Government professor, explained the chalked messages to a pair of undergrads who had stopped to watch.

“Why are you guys chalking?” a woman asked as she strolled past.

“Because it’s banned,” Levitsky replied.

—Staff writer Tilly R. Robinson can be reached at tilly.robinson@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tillyrobin.