Why Does Harvard Hate the Homeless?

When the Smith Campus Center was renovated in 2018, the team in charge claimed the renovation was part of a wider, ongoing “Common Space” initiative by the University to support the wider community. They stated that the Smith Center was intended to create a “360,000-square-foot open door” for Harvard. However, while Harvard provides many different spaces throughout Cambridge, the unhoused often get overlooked in their processes.

Recently, Harvard has been taping off the plaza outside the Smith Center every night after the building closes at 10 p.m. and tying together tables and chairs. These moves displaced unhoused residents who have used the Smith Center as a gathering place for years. The timing of this decision collides with a seasonal shelter gap, as Harvard’s two student-run homeless shelters, Y2Y Harvard Square and Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, will not open until Oct. 15, 2026.

Actions taken against the Cambridge homeless community are not new. In 2021, the city council asked the MBTA to redesign the benches at the Cambridge T stops to include bars that prevent people from sleeping there. Critics have called this design “hostile architecture” and pointed out how the bars make it harder for people experiencing homelessness to escape crowds.

In light of these changes, questions arise about whether establishments should be allowed to deter people experiencing homelessness by restricting public spaces, and whether Harvard, specifically, should be responsible for creating a safe space for the unhoused community around the Square.

In response to the latter question, Harvard should allocate more funds to student-led shelters so they can expand beyond their current capacity and allow unhoused individuals to stay longer.

In response to the former, establishments should not be allowed to deter people experiencing homelessness intentionally. They are responsible for everyone in their community. It is stated on our website that “The University is committed to collaborations that build upon this shared vision of community and that enhance the lives of Cambridge residents.” I guess this message of camaraderie doesn’t extend to unhoused individuals. Places that are made for the local area and its people should be open to everyone in the local area. By barring homeless people from using a certain area, it not only displaces but also criminalizes them.

Moreover, Harvard restricting the Smith Center allows for more targeted police activity towards the homeless. New nighttime regulations at Smith Plaza allow Harvard University Police Department officers to remove people who stay after hours; those who refuse can be arrested for trespassing.

The Smith Center has already been an unwelcome space for the unhoused, even before the tables and chairs in the plaza were tied together. According to the Boston Institution for Nonprofit Journalism, “Many unhoused people who have spent time at the Smith Center report hostility from HUPD and Securitas, Harvard’s private security firm.”

When I first came to Harvard, I was incredibly surprised by how many unhoused people were on the streets. Given Harvard’s funding and the number of wealthy individuals who visit campus, I expected the school to spare funding for the unhoused. However, after my first few months here, I have seen a pattern of Harvard neglecting the less privileged.

Harvard is the wealthiest higher-education institution globally, with an endowment of $56.9 billion and total net assets of $68.7 billion. For the approximately 160 unhoused people in the Cambridge area, Harvard could buy a $600,000 condo for each, and it would cost only 1.7% of its total endowment.

However, the institution is not always generous with its money. This stinginess is also evident in the recent rallies supporting Harvard University Dining Services workers. Harvard has refused to meet the workers’ demands to raise pay to a living wage, raising the possibility of future strikes.

Some people may think that Harvard is already helping enough through its two student-led homeless shelters. However, those shelters can host only about 45 people at a time, and their limited capacity can leave those without a spot in danger during extreme weather. According to the Harvard Gazette, the HUHS shelter “houses 20 beds for men and four beds for women and is full most every night, with requests often outnumbering available beds.” During the Jan. Winter Storm known as Fern and the Jan. 2014 blizzard, Y2Y had to expand hours and overnight capacity to house individuals.

Harvard’s shelters reach capacity constraints because Harvard undergraduates staff and manage them and therefore rely entirely on student volunteers. The shelter also operates on limited funding, relying mainly on contributions and grants, with limited support from the University. If the University offered more funding, these shelters wouldn’t have to turn unhoused people away during deadly weather.

Returning to the Smith Center, Harvard needs to stop deterring unhoused people in the plaza. Displacing these individuals is not only inhumane, but it also contradicts the purpose of the Smith Center’s outdoor area. The Smith Center’s plaza was meant to serve the community, and unhoused people should not be excluded.

Furthermore, I believe Harvard should allocate part of its endowment to fund projects that reduce homelessness. In 2022, Georgetown University funded the H3 project, a nonprofit homeless outreach organization, to connect local unhoused residents to housing and healthcare. The H3 team spent months surveying the encampment residents about the circumstances that led them to homelessness and connecting them with resources. The team helped unhoused residents enroll in Medicaid, apply for jobs, and connect with housing programs.

What Georgetown did was unique, but it doesn’t have to be. More schools should focus their efforts on projects like this, starting with Harvard. As a leading institution of higher education, Harvard should take inspiration from schools like Georgetown and lead the way.

To me, cultivating a community means supporting every individual in the area, no matter where they come from or their position. At Harvard, unhoused individuals, despite their situation, are still members of our community and should therefore be treated with respect.

Abigail McKoy ’30 (abimckoy@college.harvard.edu) is comping for the “Harvard Independent.”