Harvard Law Professor exposes ‘double standards’ in University's Palestine protest crackdown

Harvard Law Professor, Andrew Manuel Crespo, has publicly condemned the University’s crackdown on pro-Palestine activism, highlighting what he describes as the institution’s hypocritical stance on diversity and protest rights.

Writing in Truthout, a non-profit news organisation dedicated to providing independent reporting and commentary on a diverse range of social justice, Crespo, one of the first Latino promoted to a tenured position on the Law School’s faculty, revealed he has been suspended from the University’s library for participating in a silent protest alongside two dozen colleagues, mirroring earlier actions that saw dozens of students face similar punishment.

The controversy stems from a series of “study-in” protests where participants sat quietly reading texts about dissent and censorship whilst displaying small signs quoting the library’s own statement of values: “Embrace diverse perspectives”. The University’s response has been severe, with at least 60 law students barred from the library until November 2024 for similar peaceful protests.

In his criticism of the crackdown, Crespo noted the University’s contradictory approach to different forms of expression. While he was banned for silent protest, the library hosted a Day of the Dead celebration complete with music, food and public remarks—activities he argues were far more disruptive than quiet reading.

Crespo cited the view of Harvard Law School professor, Noah Feldman, to support the pro-Palestine students. Feldman reportedly said that “as long as you are sitting at your desk silently, you can do whatever you want there.” Mathematics professor, Melanie Matchett Wood, is also reported to have defended the protesters, stating they “did not interfere with normal campus activity”.

The University’s Vice President overseeing the library, Martha Whitehead, has defended the crackdown, claiming that such silent protests “change a reading room from a place for individual learning and reflection to a forum for public statements.” Crespo strongly disputes this interpretation, rejecting what he terms Whitehead’s vision of “libraries as catacombs designed to insulate people from external, let alone challenging, ideas.”

The controversy comes amid growing pressure on Harvard from prominent donors. The University has seen a sharp 14 per cent drop in donations, falling to $1.18 billion from $1.38 billion in the fiscal year ending June 2024. This decline followed a campaign led by hedge fund manager and staunch supporter to Israel, Bill Ackman, which culminated in the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay.

The crackdown has extended beyond students to faculty members, with more than 25 professors suspended from Widener Library for two weeks after participating in similar silent protests. The Harvard Law School Student Government has condemned the administration’s actions, with co-presidents, Déborah Aléxis and John Fossum, describing the University’s space policies as “unintelligible and indefensible”.

Crespo particularly emphasised the timing of his suspension, noting that while Harvard celebrated the Day of the Dead and claimed to embrace diversity, it simultaneously banned those who sought to remember Palestinian casualties. “This Day of the Dead, the Harvard Library opened the doors of its West Stacks Reading Room to all those hoping to ‘gather to celebrate our departed loved ones’—except for those who had gathered there before to remember departed Palestinians,” he wrote.

Read: Pro-Israel Jewish billionaires caught secretly plotting to crackdown student protests