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Harvard president to meet with Black student leaders about the school’s response to swatting incident
On April 3, four Black students were escorted out of their dorm at gunpoint by university police who were responding to a swatting incident. The student groups say the university failed to protect Black students' mental well-being.
Harvard President Lawrence Bacow has agreed to meet with a group of Black student leaders in the wake of their strong criticism of the school’s response to a swatting incident earlier this month, The Harvard Crimson reported.
On April 3, Harvard police escorted four Black students from their dorm at gunpoint at 4 a.m. The officers were responding to hoax phone calls from an unidentified male who claimed he’d taken a female student hostage and tried to kill her.
The Harvard Black Alumni Society and 45 Black student organizations criticized the school for the response, arguing that the school failed to protect its Black students from physical and emotional harm.
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“We assert that Black students should not have to live in fear of the police force being used as a weapon against them,” the groups wrote.
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School officials have maintained that the officers were following protocol.
The Crimson reported Tuesday that it confirmed with the president of the Black Students Association that Bacow responded to the groups’ letter on Friday. Bacow agreed to meet with five students who would serve as representatives, but a date for the meeting has not yet been set.
The student groups responded with the names of their chosen student representatives, but also requested that President-elect Claudine Gay be at the meeting, as Bacow will soon leave the university, the Crimson reported.
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In their original letter, the Black student groups also called on the school to investigate the incident and be more proactive about providing mental health resources to students of color, among other demands.
In responding to the criticism, school officials said Harvard police have met with students affected by the incident to discuss the university’s response.
In an interview Monday, the Crimson reported, Bacow defended his choice not to release a statement on the swatting incident, saying that he didn’t want to give the hoax caller more attention.
“What they’re seeking more than anything else is publicity. They are seeking to terrorize an entire community,” Bacow reportedly said. “If I speak it only gives the perpetrator of this crime more of what they seek.”
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