A Harvard administrator told two professors on Tuesday that a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in their office windows would be taken down by this Saturday, describing it as a violation of University-wide rules on using campus space.
Bence P. Ölveczky and Mansi Srivastava, professors of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, posted large block letters in their windows spelling out “Black Lives Matter” in 2020 as protests broke out nationwide over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Since then, the letters have faced out from the Northwest Science Building, where their labs are located.
But on Tuesday, Dean of Science Jeffrey W. Lichtman handed Ölveczky a letter addressed to him and Srivastava, saying that the message would be removed by Aug. 23. The letter — which was signed by Anthony Mantia, the building manager for the Northwest Building — claimed the message violated Harvard’s campus use rules, which were introduced in August 2024 following intense pro-Palestine campus protests in the spring.
The letter referred to a section of the campus use rules prohibiting Harvard affiliates from posting “self-mounted displays” without advance approval from their school. The Black Lives Matter lettering, which was posted before the campus use rules were introduced, has never been explicitly greenlit by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which oversees the Northwest Building.
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But Ölveczky and Srivastava believe that the window message is not in violation of the campus use rules. {snip}
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The removal plans were formalized more than a week after Lichtman met with Srivastava and Benjamin L. de Bivort, who are the OEB department’s co-chairs, to tell them ahead of the official notice that the lettering would be coming down.
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Though de Bivort said he fears the removal is evidence of a crackdown on political speech, it could set a precedent that, if followed uniformly, would have broader implications for campus life. {snip}
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“I’m concerned that this will make members of our community feel that they don’t belong here, that they are not supported by the institution, and that there’s a mismatch of ethical values between the institution and the community,” de Bivort said.
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