Harvard Places 10 Graduate Students on Probation for Encampment Participation

Photo byJina H. Choe

By Michelle N. Amponsah and Joyce E. Kim, Crimson Staff Writers

June 26, 2024

The Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences placed 10 graduate students on probation for participating in the pro-Palestine encampment earlier this year, Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine announced in a press release Tuesday.

Three graduate students were placed on probation for the academic year and seven students were placed on probation for six months, according to the release. One student received admonishment, and two cases were dropped, HOOP wrote.

FAS spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo could not be immediately reached for a request for comment.

The GSAS Administrative Board action comes just over a month after Harvard College suspended five students and placed more than 20 on probation for their participation in the Harvard Yard encampment — including 13 seniors, who were barred from graduating by the Harvard Corporation one day before the University’s annual Commencement ceremonies.

At least 60 students — including graduate and undergraduate students — initially received notices from the Ad Boards of their schools for their involvement in the encampment, according to HOOP organizers.

The decision to take disciplinary action against the pro-Palestine student protesters sparked fierce backlash from a number of faculty members at Harvard. A group of professors in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences attempted to add disciplined students back to the list of degrees recommended for conferral, prompting the Corporation to step in and uphold the Ad Board’s decision.

Hundreds of faculty and staff members denounced the sanctions as “unprecedented” and “arbitrary” in an open letter to interim Harvard President Alan M. Garber ’76 last month.

—Staff writer Michelle N. Amponsah can be reached at michelle.amponsah@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @mnamponsah.

—Staff writer Joyce E. Kim can be reached at joyce.kim@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @joycekim324.