BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- Harvard University has ordered two biology professors to remove a Black Lives Matter sign from their office window, citing a rule against displays without university approval.
- Professors Bence Ölveczky and Mansi Srivastava disagree with the university's decision and are seeking clarification on the policy violation.
- The professors argue their display is within the guidelines for signs in private areas, while the university insists it violates the prohibition on self-mounted displays.
Harvard University demanded Tuesday that two of its professors remove a Black Lives Matter sign in their office window, citing a campuswide rule against displaying messages without the school’s approval.
Biology professors Bence Ölveczky and Mansi Srivastava have displayed the BLM sign since the 2020 protests surrounding the death of George Floyd, according to The Harvard Crimson.
Dean of Science Jeffrey Lichtman sent a letter to the professors Tuesday “saying that the message would be removed by Aug. 23,” the school newspaper reported.
The letter stated that the sign violated university rules against “self-mounted displays.” The professors had never received approval from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which governs their building, to display the sign.
Ölveczky and Srivastava asked for further explanation as to why the sign needed to be removed. They have not yet received a response.
The sign could still be seen on campus as of Thursday morning, and the two professors disagree with the decision to remove it. They think their display is not in violation of university rules.
In interviews, they cited guidance issued in 2024 by FAS Dean Hopi Hoekstra. The dean stated that FAS affiliates are still allowed to place signs “inside individual offices, residential bedrooms and suites, or private work areas.”
“We need more clarity on why they believe that our sign is violating the policies because the letter did not provide that clarity,” Srivastava said.
Echoing his colleague, Ölveczky told MassLive “You would have to be very naive not to see the link between the sign’s removal and the university’s repeated efforts to placate the Trump administration, on issues ranging from DEI to the Israel-Palestine conflict. This action is but the latest instance of Harvard yielding to donor pressure and political masters.”
Offering another perspective, FAS campus curator Brenda Tindal told The Crimson the sign should be preserved in the university archives as it is “an important piece of Harvard cultural ephemera.”
In contrast, FAS spokesperson James Chisholm reiterated to The Crimson that the sign needs to be removed as such displays are not allowed in lab windows.
“If the display said, ‘BEAT YALE,’ it would have to be removed,” he said, according to MassLive.
The dispute may hinge on whether the Black Lives Matter lettering counts as “signage” or as an “exhibit,” since the campus rules mention both categories but don’t clearly define them, the school newspaper reported.
Harvard adopted the rule against signage, chalking, and overnight camping in July 2024 following months of disruptive anti-Israel protests.
