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The students staging a pro-Palestine encampment in Harvard Yard refused to submit to ID checks on Tuesday as tension mounted between protesters and administrators on day 14 of the occupation.
Dean of Student Services Michael Burke resorted to filming the faces of student protesters on his mobile phone while walking around the Yard in an attempt to identify members of the encampment. In response, many students used keffiyehs, surgical masks, and sunglasses to hide their identities from administrators.
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The protesters also repeatedly provoked administrators by chanting “Shame,” and raising a Palestinian flag over the John Harvard statue — the second time the Palestinian flag has flown from University Hall since the start of the encampment.
A small Palestinian flag was raised on the University Hall flagpole shortly after 5 p.m. by five members of Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine Coalition, the unrecognized student group organizing the encampment. The protesters also covered the John Harvard statue with a canvas listing the names of Palestinians killed in Gaza.
After 30 minutes, three administrators, two Harvard University police officers, and a Harvard Yard Operations worker lowered the flag and removed the canvas as 10 protesters circled the employees while playing music on drums, a trumpet, and other makeshift instruments.
University spokesperson Jason A. Newton wrote in a statement that “the protestors actions are a violation of University policy and the individuals will be subject to disciplinary action.”
Newton also noted that the American flag was not flying at the time of the incident, as it is regularly lowered at 4 p.m. for storage per the University’s policy.
While the Palestinian flag was being lowered, Burke attempted to film the faces of more than 50 onlookers and supporters at the rally. Protesters passed out masks and urged attendees to cover their faces.
Newton did not comment on Burke’s decision to film the faces of protesters. Throughout the past semester, student organizers of pro-Palestinian protests have been increasingly concerned about photography and videography at rallies after dozens of students faced doxxing attacks last semester.
As Harvard employees lowered the flag, protesters chanted: “40,000 people dead, Harvard suspends students instead.”
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HUPD Chief Victor A. Clay and at least three other officers watched the scene unfold while standing outside Massachusetts Hall, a short distance from University Hall.
The administrators and HUPD officers confiscated the Palestinian flag and canvas and returned to University Hall as protesters followed them around the building.
The group then marched around University Hall before regrouping in front of the John Harvard statue, where they chanted “Give it back” in response to the University’s confiscation of the list of names.
“Harvard Administration has confiscated a banner with the names of martyrs and is discarding it,” HOOP wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday evening.
As the students banged drums and chanted, the rest of campus life continued almost undisturbed in the Yard. Three students passed a football around in the Yard. Behind them, a group of senior undergraduates sprayed champagne on the steps of Widener Library to celebrate the conclusion of college.
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Still, the Tuesday events marked a noticeable departure from the quiet and calm scenes that the encampment had become known for. The rise in tensions also came one day after interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 threatened involuntary leaves of absence for students who continued to participate in the encampment.
But with the refusal of ID checks, it is unclear how the administration will determine which protesters are continuing the protest. HOOP organizers previously called for allies to spend the day with them in the Yard on Tuesday to help protect the encampment participants from further disciplinary action.
“Be in the Yard Tuesday, as early as you can, for as long as you can,” HOOP organizers wrote in a Monday Instagram post in reaction to Garber’s threats of involuntary leave, which they deemed “an unprecedented act of repression.”
When Burke, Dean of Students Thomas Dunne, and other Harvard administrators visited the encampment earlier in the afternoon, protesters declined to engage.
“We are not showing our IDs,” members of the encampment shouted.
Organizers spent the morning moving tents and chairs into one section of the Yard, effectively building a barrier around a portion of lawn.
A few members of the encampment gathered in the middle of the fortified area playing drums and banging on buckets while other protesters surrounded them on the outside.
“We keep us safe,” the crowd chanted.
Administrators gathered to discuss then walked away as organizers asked the crowd to stay close by for the rest of the day.
—Staff writers Jade Lozada, Dhruv T. Patel, Veronica H. Paulus, and Aran Sonnad-Joshi contributed reporting.
—Staff writer S. Mac Healey can be reached at mac.healey@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @MacHealey.
—Staff writer Jo B. Lemann can be reached at jo.lemann@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @Jo_Lemann.
—Staff writer Azusa M. Lippit can be reached at azusa.lippit@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @azusalippit or on Threads @azusalippit.
