Occupy Harvard

Harvard to remove Checkpoint Charlies on Thursday

adamg — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:02:59 +0000

The Crimson reports that with the end of a major presence by Occupy Harvard, the U is re-opening Harvard Yard to the public sometime tomorrow. But as Ron Newman notes in the comments, the hours are limited - no more romantic moon-lit late-night strolls through the Yard, plebians.

Harvard tents come down next week; will Harvard re-open the Yard?

adamg — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:18:05 +0000

The Crimson reports organizers want to move to "a new phase of activism," although they want to retain a geodesic dome donated by MIT students. Still up in the air: Whether the end of the encampment will mean Harvard will re-open its gates to people without university IDs.

Police at Harvard must be big fans of Joseph Heller

adamg — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:30:20 +0000

J.L. Bell reports one of the Harvard libraries gave him permission to do a little research there. First problem: He'd need to get a temporary Harvard ID card to get across Harvard Yard, which is now closed to outsiders. Second problem: He'd need to get across Harvard Yard to pick up the temporary Harvard ID.

I phoned ahead to the Library Privileges Office to ask how they're handling that paradox. A friendly fellow told me to tell the police officers at the gate that I wanted to go to the Library Privileges Office in the Widener building. Depending on the individual officer’s priorities, he or she would either send me on to the office or escort me there.

Unfortunately, word of that arrangement hadn't reached all the officers. In fact, I found that only one person per gate was aware of it. And the only gate where it's supposed to apply is the Widener Gate. ...

Does Harvard really need a Checkpoint Charlie?

adamg — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:28:36 +0000

The Crimson considers the university's decision to turn Harvard Yard into a gated community:

"In the past, Harvard has not acted this way towards much larger security risks ... Last year there was an armed robbery in front of Thayer and the Yard wasn't shut down then," said Taras B. Dreszer '14, who has been active in Occupy Harvard since the tent city was first built last week.