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Once at odds over the war in Gaza and questions about free speech, some people on Harvard’s campus have found a reason to come together.
May 27, 2025, 9:51 p.m. ET
A leading pro-Palestinian student demonstrator led chants for a crowd of hundreds gathered in front of the gates to Harvard Yard on Tuesday evening.
A former Jewish leader on campus who has criticized pro-Palestinian campus activism delivered the first speech.
A professor who is one of Harvard’s most prominent critics then joined them to urge people to defend the university.
Harvard in recent years has been the site of bitter acrimony over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, free speech and the future of American higher education.
But the Trump administration’s attack on Harvard has infused the campus with a sense of unity it has lacked over the last year and half, as the university prepares for commencement this week.
“School pride is probably at an all-time high,” said Abdullah Shahid Sial, a sophomore from Pakistan and one of Harvard’s two undergraduate student body presidents. He said he had not seen the campus so unified. “I hope it continues.”
