The Record

Issue date: 3/16/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Stephan Sonnenberg Judge Bybee leaves Pound Hall as hooded protesters look on.

HLS students and others protested in Pound Hall last Thursday at a Federalist Society event, a talk given by Judge Jay S. Bybee of the Ninth Circuit. The protest was organized by HLS Advocates for Human Rights and the Alliance for Justice in the Middle East at Harvard in response to the infamous "torture memo" authored by Judge Bybee at the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.

Observers reported that more than 20 people, not all HLS students, attended the protest, many wearing black hoods that mirrored those worn by prisoners at Abu Ghraib and carrying signs which read "No Torture" and "You Can Run But You Can't Hide." Professor James Cavallaro, clinical director of the Human Rights Program, attended along with the students. The event was held in Pound 201, a room with a back exit through Pound 203. Protestors stood along the hallway outside this door as well as outside the room's main exit, waiting for the talk to end. Judge Bybee and the student attendees left through the back and proceeded to the building's exit. The protestors followed, chanting "Shame, shame."

Both Matt Cooper, Federalist Society president, and Assistant Dean Alexa Shabecoff, who was asked to attend the protest as a neutral observer, agreed that the protestors were entirely peaceful inside Pound. "I was watching very closely," said Shabecoff, "and at no point did I see any of the protesting students block the doors, shove anyone, or do anything inappropriate."

The crowd made its way down the Pound hallway and stairs and out toward the parking lot, where Bybee left in a car. At this point, both protestors and event attendees have alleged physical contact, such as pushing, and noncompliance with Harvard's Protest and Dissent Guidelines. These reports are conflicting and remain unconfirmed.

Originally advertised to the law school at large as an opportunity to talk about how the Constitution is written versus how it is taught, the Federalist Society sent out an e-mail to their membership on Wednesday saying the event was "cancelled due to a scheduling conflict."

In fact, however, the e-mail was sent out when the Federalist Society leadership learned that a protest was planned. The event was moved to a smaller room, and only officers of the organization were invited. The protest organizers learned that the event was still on only a few minutes before it began. Stephan Sonnenberg, HLS Advocates president, sent out an e-mail to the group asking members to come immediately to Pound 201 and to bring black hoods with them.

Continued...

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