Harvard, MIT Order Students to End Encampments or Face Suspension

People rally at a protest encampment on Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Kresge Lawn, in Cambridge, Mass., on April 22, 2024. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Officials at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have told students taking part in pro-Palestine encampment protests on campus to leave or face suspension.

Protest movements connected to the Israel–Hamas war have swept college campuses across the country, leading to educational disruption and at times harassment, intimidation, and violence.

Encampments have popped up at numerous campuses, including Harvard and MIT, where a coalition of pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel groups have camped out for around two weeks.

Amid the turmoil and safety concerns, MIT and Harvard officials have said enough is enough.

Harvard’s interim president Alan Garber said in a letter on May 6 that the encampment at Harvard Yard has disrupted educational activities and that some people at the encampments have harassed and intimidated members of the community.

“The continuation of the encampment presents a significant risk to the educational environment of the University,” Mr. Garber wrote. “Those who participate in or perpetuate its continuation will be referred for involuntary leave from their Schools.”

Harvard students who are suspended won’t be allowed to take exams, may not reside in Harvard housing, and must leave campus until they are reinstated.

The message from MIT president Sally Kornbluth, also issued on May 6, was similar in tone and consequence.

“This prolonged use of MIT property as a venue for protest, without permission, especially on an issue with such sharp disagreement, is no longer safely sustainable,” Ms. Kornbluth wrote in the message to the MIT community.

Responses to the encampments have varied across different campuses, with an estimated 2,500 people arrested for refusing to leave the encampments after school authorities declared them unlawful.

‘Real’ Threat of Violence

Like Harvard, the president of MIT threatened students participating in the encampments with suspension.

“The threat of outside interference and potential violence is not theoretical, it is real,” Ms. Kornbluth wrote. “We have all seen circumstances around encampments at some peer institutions degenerate into chaos.”

Unlike Harvard, some students who refuse to leave the encampments at MIT will still be able to stay on campus and reside in their assigned resident hall through the end of the semester. However, this applies only to students who have not been sanctioned by MIT’s Committee on Discipline (COD). Those who have been sanctioned and buck Monday’s order to leave will not only be barred from any academic activities for the remainder of the semester—including classes, exams, and research—but must also leave campus immediately.

Both of the presidents insisted they respect students’ right to free speech but that only sanctioned protests are allowed and the encampments have become increasingly disruptive over time and they can no longer be tolerated.

“The encampment favors the voices of a few over the rights of many who have experienced disruption in how they learn and work at a critical time of the semester,” Mr. Garber said in the notice. “I call on those participating in the encampment to end the occupation of Harvard Yard.”

People rally at a protest encampment on Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Kresge Lawn, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 22, 2024. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

MIT gave students until 2:30 p.m. to leave, with posts on social media indicating that many students left but a number of them defied the order.

Aerial footage shared by Boston 25 News showed a large group of student protesters remaining on campus.

Massachusetts state Rep. Mike Connolly said in a post on X that Ms. Kornbluth had ordered law enforcement to clear the encampment.

“The State Police SERT team is moving in, as drones and helicopters fly overhead and several students remain in the camp, risking arrest, suspension and loss of housing,” he said in the post, which featured a video showing a column of police carrying zip-tie restraints.

Boston Globe reporter Alexa Coultoff shared a video on X showing a police barrier separating a counter-protest of people waving U.S. and Israeli flags singing “God Bless America” while around 300 pro-Palestine student protesters chanted slogans calling for an end to Israel’s military operation in Gaza.

Other footage shared by Ms. Coultoff from the scene showed the pro-Palestinian demonstrators and the counter-protesters, while describing the situation on the ground as “unfolding chaos.”

Elsewhere, Columbia University in New York canceled its commencement ceremony after weeks of pro-Palestine protests on campus. School officials said they took the decision after receiving feedback from student leaders.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), who called on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign amid the protests, said the commencement cancellation was yet another sign of the failed leadership at Columbia.

Former President Donald Trump said that Columbia’s decision to cancel commencement “shouldn’t happen.”