11 Harvard protesters banned from graduation will get diplomas

Eleven Harvard seniors who were barred from obtaining diplomas this past spring following their involvement in protests over the war in Gaza will soon receive their degrees.

The Harvard Corporation “has voted to confer degrees to 11 eligible candidates who have been restored to good standing following the completion of Faculty of Arts and Sciences processes,” spokesman Jason Newton said in a statement Tuesday. The development was first reported by the Harvard Crimson.

The 11 students were among 13 seniors who had their degrees withheld in May after being disciplined by the university for participation in a pro-Palestinian encampment in Harvard Yard that stretched for 20 days.

Harvard declined to comment on the status of the remaining two seniors, saying the school does not comment on “student-specific disciplinary matters.” The Crimson reported those two students still face “outstanding probation sentences” that will last through the end of the fall semester.

According to Harvard's Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct, students who want a disciplinary decision reviewed can either request reconsideration before the Administrative Board or appeal to the Faculty Council.

In a May 22 letter explaining its decision not to confer diplomas to the 13 disciplined seniors, the Harvard Corporation noted a provision in the student handbook that says “students who are not in good standing are not eligible for degrees.” But the board said it would “fully support” any “expedited review … of eligible requests for reconsideration or appeal.”

"We will consider conferral of degrees promptly if, following the completion of all FAS processes, a student becomes eligible to receive a degree," the Corporation said.

The developments come about two months after a tumultuous spring commencement that saw scores of students walk out over the university's handling of the pro-Palestinian protesters. Just days before, members of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences body expressed criticism of the board's disciplinary actions and voted to recommend the seniors receive a timely degree, but were overruled by the Corporation.

In all, five students faced suspension and 20 others were placed on probation for their involvement in campus protests. Those suspensions have since been dropped and the probation terms reduced, according to reporting from The Crimson.

Harvard's statement on Tuesday also acknowledged its recent commitment to "strengthen and improve disciplinary processes" so that it can "enhance the consistency of investigation and factfinding processes in cases involving more than one school."

“Effective, fair, well understood, and consistently applied processes are vital to how we function as a learning community — and how we reconcile the opportunities to express our views, including through protest and dissent, with our obligations to one another,” the statement read.

Harvard's encampment — one of many that emerged in the region and beyond last semester to protest the war in Gaza — disbanded peacefully on May 14, just days before commencement exercises.