header

HBAS Updates on the 

Harvard Police Raid

Thank you to all of the HBAS members who shared notes and comments regarding the April 3 police raid.  Many of you reached out to HBAS to express your hurt, outrage, and offers to help.  HBAS is in the process of an organizing a town hall for HBAS members to engage with one another on this topic.  Once we finalize the details, we will share via e-mail and our social media channels. Registration will be required. We're writing today to provide a brief update on what we've done and what we know:

  • During a two-day period of silence from the University, HBAS spoke to Boston.com and The Crimson to put pressure on Harvard to respond in a sufficient manner. 
  • On April 6, the Danoff Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana released a statement to students with wellbeing resources and an update from HUPD that provided more details about the incident but left many questions still unanswered.  We are still waiting for a response from Harvard President Lawrence Bacow and Harvard's Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
  • On April 6, HBAS Advisory Board member Zee Clarke, AB '02, MBA '08, author of Black People Breathe, hosted a virtual session entitled "A Safe Space: Processing this Week's Events" for Black student groups on campus.
  • On April 9, our friends at a Coalition for a Diverse Harvard (Coalition) shared a newsletter affirming their support for the students and providing important background regarding longstanding allegations of racism and misconduct in the HUPD (see also this report), and widespread frustration with CAHMS, the Harvard Counseling and Mental Health Services.  They also shared interviewsstatements, and letters to alumni from students.
  • The Harvard Alumni Association's (HAA) Anti-Racism Committee will be facilitating a session with the HAA Board to engage them on this topic, provide space for reflection, healing and action, and to empower the directors to take action in their communities.
  • Today HBAS sent a letter to President Bacow, Dean Khurana, and Harvard's Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Sherri Charleston urging them to publicly acknowledge the severity of the incident, hold HUPD, the caller, and other relevant parties accountable, and ensure similar raids do not happen again.