Harvard Yard, the symbolic center and primary thoroughfare of Harvard University, has been locked down for nearly two weeks, with access restricted to only those with Harvard IDs, in response to the occupation of the space by members of the Occupy Harvard movement.
The heightened security measures were put in place on Nov. 9, following a march through and the subsequent occupation of the Yard by members of the movement.
A group of approximately 300 Harvard and non−Harvard affiliated individuals marched through the Yard almost two weeks ago, and as they exited the area, police closed the gates behind them, according to Harvard sophomore and editorial editor for the Harvard Crimson Sandra Korn, who is a member of the movement.
Occupiers held a General Assembly outside Harvard Law School that evening, where they decided to try to enter Thayer Gate, one of the primary access points to the Yard, according to Tufts junior Anne Wolfe, a member of Tufts Occupiers who was present at the protest.
Students with Harvard IDs stood at the front of the crowd, and once police started letting them in, others began pushing through, Wolfe explained. In response, police closed the gates on the crowd, she said, and they have remained closed to non−Harvard community members ever since.
"I don't think there were any major injuries, but I think people got a little banged up and bruised, just because they were trying to force a metal gate into a crowd of 300 students," Wolfe said.
Roughly 20 people managed to enter the space and set up tents at that time, Wolfe said. They have since been joined by approximately 15 additional tents, Korn explained.
The university on Nov. 14 released a statement explaining that it had decided to close the gates in order to prevent "the health and safety issues that have arisen elsewhere."
An additional letter from Harvard Provost Alan Garber and Executive Vice President Katie Lapp also emphasized that the measures were necessary to ensure campus safety.
"The decision by students and other members of the Harvard community to erect tents in the Yard will require that the University continue with heightened security measures for the time being," the letter states. "The number of demonstrators was large, many of the demonstrators were not from Harvard, and specific behaviors were troubling."
Plans to occupy Harvard were born in early October as a means of bringing the movement sweeping the globe to Harvard, according to graduate student Fenna Krienen, a member of Occupy Harvard.
The occupation of the elite university is designed to call public attention to Harvard's flaws within the context of the broader movement, Korn said.
"Half of the purpose was to call attention to Harvard itself as an institution that's been complicit with a lot of the economic inequalities and financial practices that we're calling out," Korn said.
Occupiers were also focused on supporting Harvard custodians while they were in the process of renegotiating their union contract, which occurs every five years, Korn said. The contract was finalized mere hours before its expiration time and custodians ratified it on Saturday, she added.
"We generally tried to lend our pressure to support the signing of the contact as quickly and fairly as possible," Korn said.
As a result of the new security measures, upperclassmen are also now forbidden to enter the freshman dorms located in the Yard, though all Harvard students have historically had access to all dorms, Korn added.
Some members of the Harvard community are upset about the lockdown and blame the inconvenience on Occupy Harvard, Korn noted.
"It was not Occupy Harvard's decision to close the gates," Korn said.
"The administration continues to say the gates are being shut for the safety of all the students in the Yard. I don't buy that. I don't know whose safety they're trying to protect."
An online petition called "Free Harvard," which urges the group to occupy elsewhere, has received over 700 signatures.
The creator of the petition, Harvard freshman John C. Lo, contacted Occupy Harvard to tell them he did not necessarily want the group to disband, Krienen added.
"He's not against Occupy Harvard per se, he just thought it would be more effective if we were somewhere where the community could interact with us," she said.
Korn, however, believes there is a symbolic significance to occupying the Yard.
"It is important for our mission to be where we are, in a very practically and symbolically important location," she said.
Krienen feels that the members of the Harvard community who debate the choice of location are focusing on the wrong issue.
"I think it's unfortunate that the discussion about Occupy Harvard at this point is about the fact that the Yard is closed," she said.
Some faculty members have expressed support for Occupy Harvard, Krienen explained.
"There have been faculty members who have moved their classes out of the Yard in solidarity with us because they don't believe Harvard should be holding classes on an exclusive locked−down campus," she said.
Approximately 70 Harvard faculty members have signed open letters claiming support for the movement, Krienen said.
