Leading up to the conference, a five-day debate erupted in which over 550 people—including Social Studies concentrators, alumni, graduate students, and staff members as well as presidents of student support groups—petitioned against accepting the fund.

The Undergraduate Council condemned the University’s decision to accept the funds with a vote of 26-7-4.

“This is about the University decision-making going against the grain of its stated values and objectives, and this decision has affected all of us negatively,” says Maryam M. Gharavi, a doctoral student in comparative literature who participated in the protests.

The protesters said that the academic pursuits that would be financed by the fund would be overshadowed by Peretz’s extremist views and would only advance his derogatory statements.

“They’re essentially expressing to the University community and the world that Peretz’s racist agenda forever linked to this award ... will nonetheless be carried forward,” Gharavi said.

Director of Studies Anya Bernstein announced in April that fund recipients would remain anonymous. Those students can report their association with the umbrella Harvard College Research Program funding source rather than the Peretz fund.

“It suggests that the department and the University have something to hide. So much for academic freedom and transparency if they allow shady donors to dictate research agendas,” says Sam L. Sternin ’01, who helped organize the alumni petition and letter-writing campaign online.

“They should just rename the fund or return the money and save themselves the embarrassment and shame that this secret award bears.”

—Staff writer Barbara B. DePena can be reached at barbara.b.depena@college.harvard.edu.