So much for veritas.

Having planned it for weeks, on Wednesday students at Harvard University moved to set up tents in Harvard Yard and hold their first Occupy Harvard general assembly meeting.  But before you could say "safety and security concerns," all entrances to the yard were either locked tight or guarded by police officers demanding to see Harvard ID. I was one of a contingent of non-Harvard types who showed up to support Occupy Harvard and found ourselves barred from the proceedings by university officials.

This is what democracy looks like at Harvard

By now this is getting to be an old story. An occupation crops up and before anything troublesome occurs, the police roll in like storm troopers. By the time I got to Harvard somewhat after the 7 p.m. scheduled start time of the GA, the campus was crawling with police. Granted, these were not the bogeymen we've seen at other occupations. They were not wearing riot gear or toting mean-looking "less-than-lethal" weapons. Their demeanor ranged from merely stern to somewhat affable. Still, the presence of dozens of officers from Harvard, the city of Cambridge and a private security firm seems an extreme response to plans for a peaceful assembly by a a couple hundred people. But as I said, we're getting used to this.

I approached police at Johnston Gate, across from Church Street, and was told that the yard was closed for "a special event." A check of my Twitter feed confirmed that Occupy Harvard was on the move, seeking a place to hold the General Assembly that would be accessible to all. I continued around the periphery of the yard, questioning police at each gate as to why I couldn't enter. Several claimed not to know why the yard was locked down. When pressed as to why the public was being excluded from  an event in the yard, one officer  (who did admit to knowledge of some sort of demonstration) replied sheepishly, "Uh, I'm not sure, but I think some of them may be over at Holyoke Center." So much for veritas.

 

I saw police cars everywhere during my walk through the neighborhood. It was if a criminal was on the loose. Meanwhile, Occupy Harvard had completed its General Assembly and repaired to Boylston Gate, across from a busy section of Massachusetts Avenue, to figure out its next move. When I  joined the group, there were perhaps 150 people gathered outside the gate and spilling into the streets. Another crowd of Harvard ID holders was assembled inside the gate. We sat before our police sentries--the flickering strobe lights of parked squad cars illuminating the proceedings--as possible strategies for thwarting the lockdown were broadcast via human microphone for all to hear.

This must have seemed comical to the police. To me, it was emblematic of Occupy. Here is an explicitly non-violent, utterly transparent movement that models democracy at every step. Somehow, this is so threatening that police departments everywhere are compelled to send in the storm troopers rather than have an occupation take root in their jurisdiction. (Police raids on Occupy Oakland alone have cost an estimated $2.4 million so far.) It's worth noting that Harvard Yard has been locked down only rarely in the past, once during the Vietnam War when about 500 students took over University Hall, expelling administrators, including an associate dean who was carried out by students when he refused to leave voluntarily.

Nothing like that happened on Wednesday. After getting word that tents had been set up inside the yard, we left Boylston gate to march around the yard, chanting. "Tell me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!" among other slogans. There were a few taunts from students on the other side of the gate claiming to represent the 1%. They might have just been goofing off, or they might have been serious. This was Harvard, after all.

All quiet in the yard (photo by Jason Pramas)

There's been a fair amount of commentary on the supposed irony of having an occupation at Harvard, where so many children of the 1% are educated. Despite the divisive-sounding rhetoric about the 99% versus the 1%, the Occupy movement is not about demonizing the rich, many of whom support Occupy's goal of economic justice. Harvard has a long tradition of liberalism which dovetails nicely with Occupy. It has, as well, been quite permeable to the surrounding community. Who hasn't taken a continuing ed class, attended a lecture or visited a museum at Harvard? Who hasn't walked through Harvard Yard?

If there's an irony it's that an institution so grounded in the community is now attempting to keep the public from joining with students in a meaningful and vibrant display of democratic protest. But Harvard kids are smart. On Thursday night, they held another General Assembly at Johnston Gate. Everyone was invited and facilitators were on hand to assist in using the human mic across the locked gate. As I stood on the civilian side of the gate with two Egyptian revolutionaries who had come to address the GA, watching through iron bars as the Harvard continguent moved quietly toward us in the dusk, I thought, "This is what democracy looks like."