Harvard Orders Removal of Black Lives Matter Signs Amid Diversity Office Changes

Harvard University has ordered two biology professors, Bence Ölveczky and Mansi Srivastava, to remove a Black Lives Matter sign displayed in their office windows, citing a 2024 campus rule prohibiting “self-mounted displays” without prior approval. The sign, which has been present since the 2020 George Floyd protests, is said by the university to be in violation of these rules, which were implemented following campus unrest related to pro-Palestine protests. Harvard officials maintain the removal is unrelated to the sign's content or political pressures, emphasizing that any unapproved display would be removed regardless of message. However, the professors and some observers see the action as part of Harvard’s attempts to appease the Trump administration, particularly on issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and political controversies such as the Israel-Palestine conflict. The sign’s removal coincides with Harvard’s broader scaling back of programs aimed at supporting specific student identities, including the elimination of dedicated proctors for LGBTQ and first-generation or low-income students, replaced by a more generalized “Culture and Community” role. Despite the planned removal, the university's campus curator has expressed interest in preserving the sign as an important cultural artifact in the Harvard archives.