Support Palestinian punishment? Harvard Board of Directors deprives 13 graduates of their degrees

According to the Boston Globe in the United States and the Harvard Crimson, the Harvard University newspaper, the board of directors announced on May 22 that Harvard University had decided to deprive 13 graduates of their diplomas, on the grounds that they participated in anti war protests on campus in support of Palestine and violated Harvard University policies. Earlier, on the 20th, Harvard faculty voted to let these students graduate successfully, but their diplomas were still deprived by the Board of Directors.

The picture is a screenshot of the Boston Globe

According to the report, the 13 students were told last week that they would face disciplinary punishment for participating in campus protests, and they might not be able to obtain a degree at the graduation ceremony. On Monday (20th), the faculty and staff of Harvard University held a meeting to revise the list of degree awarding, and the overwhelming majority of them voted in favor of awarding these students' degrees.

However, the board of directors of Harvard University issued a statement on the 22nd, saying: "Today, we voted to award 1539 degrees to Harvard students with good reputation. Due to the poor reputation of those students mentioned in the amendment on Monday, we are currently unable to responsibly vote to award their degrees." The Harvard Crimson News said that this move was unprecedented in the history of the university. These 13 students are still allowed to attend the graduation ceremony held on the 23rd, but their failure to obtain a diploma will have a great impact on their plans after graduation.

The picture shows the information map of Harvard University campus/Visual China

The Boston Globe said that the decision of the board of directors shocked the faculty and staff of Harvard University. They strongly believed that the unfair punishment of these students was largely due to the external political pressure on board members. The Board of Directors was under pressure from American conservative politicians, donors, students and alumni who supported Israel. They asked the school to show that the protesting students who camped on campus repeatedly ignored disciplinary warnings would face serious consequences.

Stephen Marglin, an economics professor who has taught at Harvard for 59 years, said that the decision of the Board of Directors was a slap in the face of the faculty and staff, which may cause new protests at the graduation ceremony on the 23rd. Ryan Enos, a professor of political science, said: "I am very depressed... This is simply the arrogance of the board of directors. Think about this. A group of billionaires (referring to the members of the board of directors) who come to Cambridge (the city where Harvard University is located) several times a year can tell the professors who teach these students that they can better understand who is qualified for a degree. This courage is amazing. In my opinion, the board of directors is not qualified to lead this university. "

The Harvard Student Union, a student organization supporting Palestine, criticized the decision of the Board of Directors to deprive the university of its degree: "Today's actions have further plunged the university into a crisis of legitimacy and governance, which will have a significant impact on Harvard in the coming months and years.".

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Anti war students were deprived of their degrees, and hundreds of students left Harvard's graduation ceremony to protest

According to the reports of NBC and Harvard Crimson News, the Harvard University newspaper, on May 23 local time, Harvard University held a graduation ceremony, and a large number of students left the ceremony to protest, accusing the university of depriving 13 graduates who participated in the anti war protests of their degrees.

The board of directors of Harvard University announced on May 22 that the university had decided to deprive 13 graduates of their diplomas, on the grounds that they participated in the campus anti war protests in support of Palestine, in violation of Harvard University policy. On the 20th, Harvard faculty voted to let these students graduate successfully, but their diplomas were still deprived by the Board of Directors.

Live picture of Harvard University graduates leaving ceremony/Harvard Crimson Daily

This decision of the Board of Directors caused dissatisfaction among Harvard graduates. When acting president Alan Garber of Harvard University began to preside over the degree awarding ceremony, hundreds of students stood up from their seats and began to leave the ceremony site and participate in demonstrations, protesting the school's response to this round of Palestinian Israeli conflict, and condemning the punishment of students who participated in the campus anti war protests.

The live video shows that the protest began at nearly 11:00 a.m. local time on the 23rd, and the participating students shouted slogans and held signs. The march lasted about 10 minutes. Margaret Mano, a student, said that depriving these graduates of their degrees cast a shadow on what should have been a happy graduation ceremony. "This is bittersweet. Our dormitory sisters, my friends, they cannot graduate with me," she said.

Some protest students supporting Palestine marched to a church not far from Harvard Park, where a "People's graduation" was held to pay tribute to the 13 graduates who were deprived of their degrees by the university.

According to the report, acting headmaster Garber seemed to predict in advance that there would be protests during the ceremony. He said in his speech: "As the ceremony goes on, some of us may choose to express their views freely to draw people's attention to the events taking place in the wider world. They have the right to do so."

According to NBC, in addition to the 13 students, five Harvard students who participated in the anti war protests on campus have been suspended from school, and more than 20 students are facing detention.