Harvard professors participate in a silent demonstration in support of disciplined protesters

They expressed solidarity with the group of Harvard students who took part in a similar demonstration last month. Students held a largely silent protest in the library, protesting Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon. According to an email from the student newspaper The Harvard Crimson, more than 12 pro-Palestinian student demonstrators were banned from Widener Library for two weeks following the protest.

The professors said in a statement that the ban had drawn widespread condemnation across the political spectrum.

“As professors in a place that says reason and dissent are essential parts of its mission, we believe the university’s punishment of students was at odds with its own values,” said Ryan Enos, a professor of government, who took part in the demonstration.

Two university officials stood outside the library on Wednesday, but said it was not specifically intended for professors to study.

“The university and library administration will continue to gather information about the action that took place today in the Loker Reading Room at Widener Library before deciding on next steps,” said Jason Newton, director of media relations and communications at Harvard University.

Faculty members who participated in the silent rehearsal included members of the law school, medical school, business school and other departments. The professors' demonstration underscores broader concerns about academic freedom, as professors demand an environment that encourages diverse viewpoints and protects the rights of all members of the university community to engage in open dialogue without fear of censorship.

On September 21, students organized a largely silent “study-in” at Widener Library in Harvard Yard. They entered the study hall wearing keffiyehs, a scarf symbolizing pro-Palestinian support, and set up laptops with notes that said, “Imagine it happened here.” After the protest, Harvard administrators sent the student away an email with her words Actions violated the rules and regulations governing library use set forth in the University-wide Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

Twelve students were denied access to the Widener Library building for two weeks, but did not have their library privileges or access to other campus library facilities revoked.

“I think it's a ridiculous crackdown on speech at Harvard,” said Walter Johnson, a professor of history and African and African American studies. “I don’t believe that just because there are rules, those rules are right.”

The professors who took part in Wednesday's demonstration believed that Harvard's rules overstepped students' freedom of speech, protest and expression.

“Sitting quietly in the library is not disruptive, and we do not see how a university can punish its students for coming to the library to read,” said Andrew Manuel Crespo, a professor at Harvard Law School.

Johnson said that at Wednesday's demonstration, both students and faculty members participating were completely silent. Professors read books about civil protests such as “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and the American Library Association’s “Bill of Rights.” They wore black scarves in support of the Palestinian keffiyehs of the disciplined students.

The professors also held posters that displayed a reading list of important works on censorship and dissent on one side and quotations from Harvard's Statement on Rights and Responsibilities on the other. One said: “REASONABLE DISSENT plays a particularly IMPORTANT role in (our) existence.”

“We are here today reading about dissent, censorship and academic freedom because we believe that universities are places where people should exchange ideas with each other, and if you sit quietly and undisturbed in a library and read books, a university should “Never punish yourself for it,” Crespo said.

Rachel Umansky-Castro can be reached at [email protected].