Harvard President: Protesters Face 'Involuntary Leave' From School

Harvard students who participate in on-campus pro-Palestine protests "will be referred for involuntary leave" from school, the university's interim president said Monday.

Protesters behind the pro-Palestine encampment efforts at Harvard on Friday gave school leaders a Monday deadline to begin discussing divesting from Israel, The National Desk reported.

On Monday, interim President Alan M. Garber wrote to "members of the Harvard community" and addressed "the encampment in Harvard Yard [that] has disrupted our educational activities and operations" for 12 days.

"The right to free speech, including protest and dissent, is vital to the work of the research university. But it is not unlimited," Garber wrote.

"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. I call on those participating in the encampment to end the occupation of Harvard Yard."

Garber explained that the protesters "have been informed repeatedly that violations of University and School policies will be subject to disciplinary consequences and that further violations and continued escalation will result in increasingly severe sanctions."

"I write today with this simple message: The continuation of the encampment presents a significant risk to the educational environment of the University," Garber wrote. "Those who participate in or perpetuate its continuation will be referred for involuntary leave from their Schools.

"Among other implications, students placed on involuntary leave may not be able to sit for exams, may not continue to reside in Harvard housing, and must cease to be present on campus until reinstated."

Encampment protesters announced Friday the university has until 5 p.m. Monday to start negotiations for their demands that Harvard disclose and divest from investments and companies in Israel and the West Bank., according to the Harvard Crimson.

Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, the group leading the encampment, did not specify what would happen if school officials did not begin negotiations by the deadline.

Another Ivy League school, Columbia University, on Monday canceled its main, university-wide commencement ceremony scheduled for May 15 in favor of smaller, school-based events, a decision that follows weeks of on-campus pro-Palestinian protests.