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After two semesters of “overwhelming” success, the Harvard Graduate Council’s legal aid program did not receive approval for additional funding from the Office of the Provost, preventing it from running in the fall.
The HGC’s program originally received $5,000 from the provost’s office in the fall of 2023, and then again in the spring after it quickly exhausted its budget. The initiative provided legal advice free of charge from Bobby Constantino, an instructor at the Harvard Kennedy School, and three student volunteers from Harvard Law School. The program served 33 graduate students in the fall and 50 students in the spring.
The HGC submitted an impact statement to the provost’s office and plans for the fall semester, but received news in June that the office chose not to renew the program.
“It was kind of heartbreaking to see it collapse just because of funding,” said program co-chair Mifrah Hayath. “And we saw so many students being backed into a corner with no other place to turn. And legal aid really helped be that light at the end of the tunnel.”
Hayath’s current work focuses on finding possible new sponsoring bodies for the legal aid program. Despite the ongoing funding challenges, Brett A. Monson, former president of the HGC, said he remains optimistic that the program can be adapted to a different format in the future.
“At this moment, HGC's legal aid committee would love to find a different sponsoring home for this student service to exist, as we found it's a huge need among graduate students,” Monson wrote in an email to the Crimson.
“For a lot of us, legal challenges can be a very intimidating black box of the unknown, and that can negatively affect mental health. CAMHS does amazing work for students, but at least for legal matters, sometimes having a law professional to talk to is the solution that brings a person the most solace,” he added.
Hayath listed several possibilities to replace the previous legal aid program.
“We’ve reached out to Harvard Club of Boston, where the president is willing to meet with us and try to help us find different possibilities. And in his opinion, the possibilities are endless,” Hayath said.
Hayath said the program has also reached out to Harvard Law School, as well as the chair of advocacy at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student council, which is considering adopting the program as an advocacy project.
“I feel like there’s some politics within the Provost Office that made them a little concerned about the program,” said former program co-chair Mark York. “In particular, we are helping people with legal issues, right? So they were concerned about what our liability might be.”
York said that the legal aid program bought legal liability insurance, even though they only advised students, and did not officially represent them.
“While we appreciate potential student needs being raised through the HGC, we are also mindful that HGC is not structured, nor funded, for the development and delivery of student services,” University spokesperson Jason Newton wrote in a statement.
“The University will continue to engage with HGC leadership to determine if there are avenues for connecting graduate students with existing services or explore other opportunities around issues that are raised through the council’s discussions,” Newton added.
—Staff writer Tilly R. Robinson contributed reporting.
—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.
