Harvard University plans to adopt new rules banning overnight camping, chalking, and unapproved signs and other displays , according to a proposal from school administration.
The document, obtained by the Harvard Crimson, was created by Harvard’s Office of General Counsel and the Working Group on Campus Space Use after months of pro-Palestinian protests and encampments that disrupted campus life in the spring semester.
“Both to foster the well-being of community members and to preserve these resources for future generations, the University has an obligation to adopt rules and policies that simultaneously protect and facilitate the use of the University's private property,” reads the document, which is still in draft form.
Campus protesters frequently use chalking, signs, and encampments to get their point across by causing disruptions. Given the scale of the spring semester's protests on campuses across the country, coupled with congressional and Education Department investigations into civil rights violations, schools such as Harvard appear interested in avoiding a repeat of their actions from last semester.
However, Harvard spokesman Jason Newton said the policies in the proposal may not reflect what will end up in the final version.
“The draft document obtained by the Crimson is an earlier version that was in review and may not accurately indicate the current status of guidance regarding a particular topic,” he told the Crimson. “Once the document is finalized, it will be shared with the Harvard community.”
Newton also explained that some of the policies in the draft already exist, but administrators are working on ways to make sure rules for proper use of spaces on campus are more readily available to students and staff.
Penalties for breaking the rules could result in fines for the cost of destruction of campus property and referrals to a disciplinary board.
However, the threat of disciplinary action could fall flat, as Harvard administrators have already displayed weakness after they effectively reversed themselves by dropping the suspensions of many of the protesters from the spring and conferred degrees on those who had initially been blocked from receiving them for their involvement in encampments.
Last month, the school announced that it would standardize disciplinary processes across schools because of punishment inconsistencies.
Students and special interests could also challenge the new policies on free speech grounds. However, that argument is slightly more complicated, as Harvard is a private school.
Under the proposed guidelines, exhibits and displays would need to be approved by the university or entities that control the space where demonstrators want to set up. The proposal includes a ban on filming others without their consent, which could be a concession to pro-Palestinian protestors who largely cover their faces to avoid being identified but have complained about being doxxed.
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In response to many outside groups' involvement in organizing protests and bringing non-Harvard people on campus, the guidelines would bar recognized groups from partnering with unaffiliated groups as well. Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, the main organizer behind the encampment at Harvard Yard last spring, was a coalition of unrecognized groups.
The guidelines would also ban practices such as blocking entrances or vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
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