Audience members at the Dec. 11 speech were reminded of Harvard’s free speech rules when a brief statement from the free speech guidelines was read before Wen’s arrival. An insert that came with the ticket also said, “Members of the audience are asked to be courteous and not interrupt the speaker or disrupt the meeting in any way.”

Howard said she plans to cooperate in the disciplinary process but said she believes her actions fell under the realm of free speech.

“In the end, I disrupted the speech but I didn’t stop it,” she wrote in an e-mail. “Wen and I both have the right to exchange our ideas freely, even though he may not accord that right to his own people.”

A senior University official said that generally in cases of protest the “Catch-22” is that if the rules are read, protestors may claim they were intimidated, but if they are not read, protestors may claim they had no fair warning of the rules.

Howard said that at her Ad Board hearing she will have to present a statement about whether she agrees with the facts in the police report and try to justify her actions.

“I think, frankly, Harvard should be ashamed that they care more about not ruffling the feathers of China’s premier than about the chance to voice the concerns of six million people,” Howard said.

Since the protest, Howard said Tibetans from around the world have expressed their gratitude to her for standing up for their freedom.

“I have had an overwhelming response from Tibetans around the world,” Howard said. “I have received e-mails and phone calls from India, Nepal and all over the U.S. and Canada.”

Howard said the same day she found out about her impending Ad Board case, the Tibetan Assocation of Boston honored her with a white silk scarf called a katag, a sign of respect in Tibet.

And Radio Free Asia has set up a website to thank her, Howard said.

“I was so focused on Wen before the event, that I forgot about any effects my action could have on anyone other than him,” she said. “One guy even asked me out on a date.”

—Staff writer May Habib can be reached at habib@fas.harvard.edu.