Harvard places pro-Palestinian student group on probation, bans activities through rest of school year
'Our commitment to creating a campus environment where free expression thrives requires that members of our community adhere to Harvard's policies and rules, including those relating to time, place, and manner restrictions,' the Harvard spokesperson said.
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In a statement issued Wednesday, the student group criticized the move as an attack on free speech, coming at a time when Israel-Hamas war
'The new decision from the University effectively terminates all student and academic programming on Palestine on Harvard's campus, at the exact time that the genocide backed by Harvard's endowment escalates in Gaza.'
'In the eyes of the Harvard administration, simply speaking or displaying elements relating to Palestine is punishable,' the statement continued.
The ban comes a day after the Trump administration
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The restrictions put 'an end to all pre-scheduled, public events,' including eight events the student group was slated to host beginning Sunday in honor of Palestine Solidarity Month, and requires the group to notify administrators of the locations of internal meetings, the student group's statement said.
The student group balked at allegations that they violated campus rules and policies during Tuesday's rally.
'The administration provided no precise nor substantiated basis for this sanction against the PSC,' the statement said. 'Their letter merely states that a rally happened and some unauthorized organizations cosponsored it, but it says nothing about what role, if any, the PSC played.'
The ban on the pro-Palestinian student group follows Harvard's recent decision to
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'Harvard isn't trying to create a 'campus environment where free expression thrives,' as it claims; it's trying to more effectively censor and surveil student activists while masking the University's complicity in genocide,' the student group's leaders said in the statement.
The student group has faced bans, and eventual reinstatement, before. Last spring, Harvard
Tonya Alanez can be reached at
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