Harvard University is suspending five students and placing over 20 of them on probation for participating in an anti-Israel encampment.
The Harvard College Administrative Board will be preventing twelve seniors from graduating at commencement and at least one senior will be required to withdraw for three semesters, the Harvard Crimson reported. Two of the twelve seniors were among the five suspended students who were forced to withdraw from Harvard College, the university’s undergraduate liberal arts school.
“Harvard is not allowing me to graduate this semester for my participation in the encampment,” Rhodes Scholar-elect Suhaas Bhat said at the Harvard class of 2024 talent show. He told the Harvard Crimson the “complete Ad Board voted to place me on academic probation, and thus prevent me from graduating.”
A spokesman for Harvard told the outlet the college is “committed to applying all policies in a content-neutral manner and per existing regulations as outlined in college and university guidelines.” National Review has reached out for comment.
The punishment for anti-Israel protesters comes shortly after the House Education and Workforce Committee released a report on Harvard’s apparent indifference towards campus antisemitism and failure to implement recommendations by its antisemitism task force. Earlier this week, Harvard’s interim president Alan Garber announced the university would be reinstating campus organizers and reevaluating its investments in exchange for the encampment ending.
The anti-Israel encampments at Harvard and other college campuses across the nation have protested U.S. support for Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas and college investments in Fortune 500 companies that do business in Israel. Harvard reinstated over 22 students from involuntary leaves of absence following the agreement between Garber and campus activists.
Garber took over in January after disgraced former Harvard president Claudine Gay resigned when dozens of instances of plagiarism were found in her academic work. Gay received significant criticism when she testified last year and could not say whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard’s campus speech policy.
“I will also ask disciplinary boards within each School to evaluate expeditiously, according to their existing practices and precedents, the cases of those who participated in the encampment,” Garber said.
Anti-Israel campus activists with the Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine coalition accused Garber of breaking his deal by punishing the 12 seniors and suggested the encampment could return.
“This betrayal will prevent 12 students from graduating and place 28 on probation or suspension,” the activists said in an Instagram post. “If Harvard won’t live up to their promises, we see no reason to live up to ours.”