More than 30 Harvard students, faculty, staff, and alumni gathered outside Massachusetts Hall on Monday to deliver a box containing 452 complaints alleging discrimination against Muslims, Arabs, and Palestinians on campus. The complaints, which were previously submitted to the University’s Office for Community Conduct, describe a “hostile climate” and, according to organizers, were largely ignored.

“We’ve mostly received no response or only cold, generic emails from the administration,” said Lara Z. Jirmanus, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and one of the event organizers.

The group handed the documents to a University employee at the office of President Alan M. Garber. They also sent the complaints to the University’s task force on antisemitism, which President Garber launched last spring. That task force, along with a parallel one addressing anti-Arab bias, recently released final reports. According to the findings, 92 percent of Muslim and 61 percent of Jewish respondents reported feeling unsafe expressing their views on campus.

At a press conference before the delivery, members of Harvard United for an Inclusive Campus — a newly formed coalition — criticized the reports, claiming they failed to address systemic anti-Palestinian bias. “The University continues to uphold a double standard,” said Jirmanus. “It’s clear that those of us not aligned with powerful political interests may be the next targets.”

Avi S. Steinberg, a Radcliffe fellow and son of a former Harvard Hillel director, argued that the task forces served political rather than community needs. “These reports are designed to protect Harvard’s leadership, not us,” he said, calling the antisemitism report “nakedly pro-Israel activism.”

Tensions have risen amid a legal standoff between the Trump administration and Harvard, which has seen federal funding frozen. The administration demanded an audit of programs it deemed politically biased as a condition for reinstating funds — a demand the University has rejected.

Despite Garber’s recent statements defending academic freedom, several speakers said his administration’s silence on these complaints reveals a deeper disregard for Muslim and Arab students’ safety and concerns.

Source: The Harvard Crimson