Harvard changes mind, decides to give degrees to disruptive anti-Israel activists
Harvard has ‘voted to confer degrees to 11 eligible candidates who have been restored to good standing following the completion of Faculty of Arts and Sciences processes,’ a Harvard spokesperson said.
One of the students mocked the school despite the news, saying: ‘What does it mean to be conferred a degree from a university that holds millions of investments in illegal occupation . . . and mistreats its students for a political agenda?’
The Harvard Corporation, which governs Harvard University, has decided to grant degrees to 11 students who were part of a disruptive anti-Israel protest at the school after initially withholding the degrees.
A Harvard spokesperson said Tuesday that the Harvard Corporation “has voted to confer degrees to 11 eligible candidates who have been restored to good standing following the completion of Faculty of Arts and Sciences processes.”
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“The University continues to work to strengthen and improve disciplinary processes, such as the recently announced procedures to enable the work of the University Committee on Rights and Responsibilities to enhance the consistency of investigation and factfinding processes in cases involving more than one school,” the spokesperson added.
One of the students whose degree was initially withheld is Asmer Asrar Safi, a Rhodes Scholar.
Safi, who was one of the leaders of Harvard’s disruptive anti-Israel camp, condemned Harvard despite the news that he will be receiving his degree.
“What does it mean to be conferred a degree from a university that holds millions of investments in illegal occupation, bankrolls the annihilation of Palestinians, and mistreats its students for a political agenda?” Safi wrote.
Safi also boasted about Harvard’s reversal, writing: “After relentless student and faculty pressure, Harvard conferred our undergraduate degrees today, three months after the corporation barred us from graduating alongside our peers.”
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Safi has spoken out against the Jewish State in the past as well. In June 2021, he wrote an article for The Harvard Crimson claiming that “Israel’s apartheid regime has imposed a hegemonic, authoritarian rule over Palestinians.”
Campus Reform has contacted Harvard University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
