
In Photos: A Year of Protest Across Harvard’s Campus

In Photos: A Year of Protest Across Harvard’s Campus
Over the past year, protests have swept Harvard’s campus, spanning issues from Gaza to academic freedom, labor rights, and student expression. As the Trump administration returned to power and launched a campaign targeting higher education, demonstrators pushed back – calling on the University to resist federal pressure and defend its students, faculty, and values. In this photo essay, The Crimson’s multimedia staff looks back at a year of protest and political unrest at Harvard.

Sept. 3, 2024
Messages in colorful chalk cover the sidewalk in front of the John Harvard statue during a faculty protest against new campus rules banning chalking and unsanctioned signage. One message reads, "Welcome students, ask why chalking is banned." The chalk was washed away by Harvard staff less than an hour later.
Julian J. Giordano
Sept. 11, 2024
Students gather in front of Memorial Church for a candlelit vigil organized by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee to mourn the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in the war in Gaza. The vigil marked the group's first event since being reinstated as a recognized student organization.
Lotem L. Loeb
Sept. 20, 2024
Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine students hold a study-in protest inside Widener Library in opposition to Israeli military actions in Lebanon. Harvard Library staff recorded the ID numbers of participating students and distributed notices citing violations of University policies.
Frank S. Zhou
Sept. 25, 2024
Days after a study-in protest at Widener Library, Kojo Acheampong '26 leads demonstrators in Science Center Plaza at a Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine rally condemning Israeli strikes in Lebanon and criticizing the University's response to student activism.
Sami E. Turner
Oct. 7, 2024
An attendee speaks on the steps of Widener Library during a vigil marking the anniversary of Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The event, organized by Harvard Hillel and Chabad, included speeches, musical performances, and a reading of victims' names.
Frank S. Zhou.jpg)
Oct. 7, 2024
University President Alan M. Garber ’76 stands among more than 400 attendees at the vigil.'
Frank S. Zhou
Oct. 8, 2024
An individual splashed the John Harvard statue with red paint and smashed windows at University Hall in an act claimed online as "solidarity with the Palestinian resistance." Harvard officials boarded up the damage and police launched an investigation.
Addison Y. Liu
Oct. 10, 2024
Students gather on the steps of Memorial Church for a candlelit vigil hosted by the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee to mark one year since the start of the war in Gaza. The vigil concluded a two-day campus art installation commemorating Palestinian deaths.
Selorna A. Ackuaya
Oct. 11, 2024
After pro-Palestine students were temporarily banned from Widener Library following a study-in protest, more than a dozen Harvard faculty members gather in front of the library to protest. The action, organized by Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine, called the ban a threat to free expression.
Marina Qu
Sept. 25, 2024
A Securitas guard notes the Harvard University ID numbers of faculty members who participated in a study-in at Widener Library to protest the University's temporary suspension of student activists from the building.
Tilly R. Robinson
Nov. 4, 2024
Harvard Divinity School students silently pray during a "pray-in" protest at the Divinity School library organized by Jewish students and open to all faiths. The 45-minute demonstration included participants holding religious texts like the Quran, Torah, and Bible as they called for divestment from Israel's war in Gaza.
Frank S. Zhou
Nov. 15, 2024
As Harvard Law School students staged a study-in protest in Langdell Hall’s library, flyers warned that participants could be ID’d. More than 50 students silently studied for 40 minutes before exiting the building without any disciplinary action.
Frank S. Zhou
Nov. 18, 2024
Students holding banners rally outside Harvard Hillel to protest a talk by former Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Ronen Manelis. Organized by Harvard Jews for Palestine, the demonstration criticized Hillel's invitation to Manelis and marked the first protest outside the center in several years.
Cam E. Kettles
Nov. 19, 2024
Rank-and-file members of the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers rally outside Smith Campus Center to protest the University's alleged retaliation against pro-Palestine demonstrators and union activists. The demonstration, organized by the union's Rank & File Movement, drew around 25 attendees.
Mae T. Weir
Nov. 21, 2024
Harvard undergraduate Kojo Acheampong '26 jumps in chant as he's surrounded by fellow protesters during a walkout held by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine in Harvard Yard. More than 40 students rallied to demand divestment from companies tied to human rights abuses.
Cam E. Kettles
Nov. 23, 2024
Protesters hold signs reading "40,000 Gazans now are dead" and "Your donor $s fund death" outside the back entrance to Widener Library during a rally targeting Harvard donors attending the President's Associates dinner. The demonstration called on the University to divest from companies linked to human rights abuses.
Julian J. Giordano
Feb. 19, 2024
A protester raises their fist during a rally outside the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston against President Donald Trump's proposed cuts to federal research funding. More than 300 researchers, educators, and students participated in the protest.
Cam E. Kettles
Mar. 3, 2024
A guard checks student IDs outside the Science Center gate of Harvard Yard, which remained closed for several hours following a protest organized by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine. The rally opposed Israel's deployment of tanks into the West Bank and marked HOOP's first major demonstration of the spring semester.
Ike J. Park
Mar. 4, 2024
Students carry a banner through Harvard Yard during a walkout protesting time caps on non-tenure-track faculty. The demonstration, organized by the Harvard Academic Workers Union and the Student Labor Action Movement, called on the University to end limits on lecturer and preceptor appointments.
Hugo C. Chiasson
Mar. 6, 2024
Protesters cross the Anderson Memorial Bridge during an impromptu rally led by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine against a Harvard Israel Business Club event featuring former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. More than 100 protesters marched in the rain from JFK Park to Harvard Business School, where they were met with barricades and a heavy security presence.
Elyse C. Goncalves
Mar. 7, 2024
Demonstrators hold signs on the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial in front of the Massachusetts State House during the Stand Up for Science rally protesting President Donald Trump's proposed cuts to federal research funding. More than 500 researchers, physicians, and students gathered at Boston Common to oppose the administration's policies.
Hugo C. Chiasson
Mar. 13, 2024
A crowd gathers on the Widener steps for an American Association of University Professors rally protesting the arrest and potential deportation of Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil. Nearly 200 Harvard faculty, staff, and students called on the University to more forcefully oppose President Donald Trump's actions against academic institutions.
William C. Mao
Mar. 27, 2024
Cambridge police observe roughly 30 non-Harvard affiliates protesting outside the Smith Campus Center during a demonstration organized by Refuse Fascism, a New York-based activist group. The rally condemned the arrests of Columbia graduate student Mahmoud Khalil and Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk by federal immigration authorities.
Garvin Kim.jpg)
Mar. 27, 2024
Students lie on the steps of Widener Library during a "die-in" protest organized by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine against the war in Gaza. More than 60 participants wore masks and remained silent for 17 minutes as the names of Palestinians killed in the conflict were read aloud.
Cam N. Srivastava
Apr. 1, 2024
Dozens of Harvard affiliates gather outside University Hall during a rally organized by Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine to protest President Alan Garber's pledge to cooperate with a Trump administration task force on antisemitism and the University's dismissal of two Middle East studies professors.
Lotem L. Loeb
Apr. 12, 2024
Protesters gather on Cambridge Common during a rally organized by the Cambridge City Council and Harvard's AAUP chapter urging the University to reject President Donald Trump's demands to eliminate DEI programming and ban masks in exchange for federal funding.
Emily T. Schwartz
Apr. 17, 2024
Students speak with international peers on the steps of Memorial Church during a rally supporting Harvard's rejection of Trump administration demands. More than 500 affiliates gathered to oppose federal threats to deport international students and applauded the University's decision not to share disciplinary data with immigration authorities.
Ellen P. Cassidy
Apr. 25, 2024
Protesters climb Johnston Gate to hang banners during a "Global Day of Action for Gaza" rally in Harvard Square. The demonstration, organized by several unrecognized student groups, accused Harvard of censoring pro-Palestine speech while resisting demands from the Trump administration.
Mae T. Weir
Apr. 27, 2024
Rallygoers hold a sign calling for an end to time caps at a picket organized by campus unions in the Science Center Plaza. The rally, held during Harvard's Visitas weekend for recently admitted students, urged the University to protect non-citizen workers and resist federal funding cuts under the Trump administration.
William C. Mao
Apr. 29, 2024
Students speak at a "Students for Freedom" protest in the Science Center Plaza urging Harvard to reject Department of Homeland Security demands for student records and to reinstate affinity graduation ceremonies. The rally drew more than 80 attendees and included remarks from student leaders and faculty.
Samuel A. Church
May 6, 2024
Harvard College students gather in the Yard to protest University time caps on non-tenure-track faculty. The demonstration coincided with a Faculty of Arts and Sciences meeting where Armenian preceptor Lisa Gulesserian – who had just received a teaching award – interrupted the proceedings to denounce the policy that will end her appointment at the end of the semester.
Hugo C. Chiasson
May 12, 2024
Harvard affiliates deliver a box containing 452 discrimination complaints to a University employee outside Massachusetts Hall during a rally alleging anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and anti-Palestinian bias on campus. Organizers said the University had ignored prior submissions to the Office for Community Conduct and demanded stronger protections for affected students.
Elyse C. Goncalves