Harvard won’t take official stance on controversial issues under new policy

Harvard University will no longer take sides on controversial public issues under an institutional policy announced Tuesday.

The change comes in response to criticism of the university’s handling of antisemitism, its initial response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and its decision to fly a flag on campus in support of Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.

Interim President Alan Garber introduced the policy in an email Tuesday based on recommendations from a Institutional Voice Working Group, The Crimson student newspaper reports.

Garber said both he and the Harvard Corporation accepted the faculty group’s recommendation to restrict the university and its leaders from issuing “official statements about public matters that do not directly affect the university’s core function.”