Each time I have left Harvard’s campus and returned home this school year, I have been met with some iteration of the following questions: How is it over there? Is it as crazy as the media makes it out to be? Do you feel safe with all of the turmoil? Whether at a family dinner or a gathering with high school friends, people’s curiosities about my college experience often pertain to the political turbulence taking place on my campus. Ever since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the events on Harvard’s campus have included a slew of demonstrations, administrative statements, media coverage, and battles between student groups.
As a focal point of dissent and political expression, Harvard has historically been situated at the center of contentious current events and protests. The Israel-Palestine conflict has produced a campus environment reminiscent of the Vietnam War era, when the school was a major site of unrest and demonstrations. As a politically interested Jewish student who values critical engagement with global events and the right to peaceful protest, I will still admit that attending this university can feel extremely overwhelming and conflicting.
I remember sitting in Widener’s Loker Reading room in mid-October, preparing for my very first college midterm, when the sound of loud chants outside could be heard from the characteristically silent study space. I approached the large windows to see a pro-Palestine protest demonstration, composed of at least two hundred people, on the library’s steps and surrounding area. As I left Widener through the back exit to find a new spot to continue with my work, I felt guilty prioritizing my Econ test and quite literally walking away from the reminder of the grave events occurring in the Middle East.
When the Palestine Solidarity Group released a co-signed statement from over 30 student organizations declaring that they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” signatories faced widespread condemnation from university professors, business leaders, lawmakers, and students. As I later walked through the Square, my eyes widened, taking note of the large truck parked by Cardullo’s. The vehicle broadcasted students’ faces beneath the phrase “Harvard’s Leading Antisemites.”
As I examined the truck, I thought about how divided our campus was. There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech, but publicly intimidating students simply puts them in danger and is unproductive in its effect. With the letter and its responses gaining rampant media traction, I felt the wider significance of the activities at our university—people really care about what is happening at Harvard.
Between the months of October and November, the presence of protests and memorial services in the Yard was constant. It did not take long to become accustomed to the demonstrations that had previously made me stop in my tracks. Of course, the conflict remained a topic central to my thoughts and conversations—a number of my Israeli relatives were forced to flee their country for safety. However, the actions happening on campus became sidelined from my daily life.
On Dec. 5, former Harvard President Claudine Gay testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on the presence of antisemitism on campus, along with the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and MIT. The testimony left many students, faculty members, and observers unsatisfied and outraged by Gay’s failure to explicitly condemn calls for the genocide of the Jewish community as a violation of the school’s conduct policy. Following the resignation of UPenn President Liz Magill on Dec. 9, critics called for the removal of President Gay, and elite universities grew to be important symbols of the function of leaders and institutions within the Israel-Palestine discourse. With the resignation of President Gay, the search for a new president, and the escalation of the conflict, tensions on campus have only heightened. The recent emergence of encampment protests on college campuses like Harvard has captured the attention of the media. Only time will tell whether the activities here will mirror the chaos and violence present at other schools, such as Columbia and UCLA.
As the individuals who compose this university, we, the members of the student body, also play an important role in the school’s engagement with global events. Each day I am here, attending amazing classes and making use of the endless opportunities, I am reminded of how much of a privilege it is to be a student at Harvard. Part of this experience also entails being part of an institution that is in the spotlight. To outsiders, Harvard life seems to be dominated by this commotion, but as a student, this is not always the case. As a first-year, I have at times felt the full force of the unique political culture here, while in other instances, it has not impacted my experience. As I continue to navigate my undergraduate experience, I intend to keep reflecting on what it means to be a student at Harvard while examining the university’s positioning in current global events.
Sophie Dauer ’27 (sophiedauer@college.harvard.edu) writes Forum for the Independent.