DSO Issues Warnings to Student Groups Over Member Removal Policies

At least four student organizations have received warnings from the Dean of Students Office this semester as the DSO has begun enforcing a policy that bars student groups from removing members outside of the College’s disciplinary process.

The warnings were issued as part of a comprehensive review of all student organizations’ constitutions that the DSO began in October. Student groups were not notified in advance of the review.

The Crimson confirmed that the Harvard Undergraduate Jews for Peace, the Palestine Solidarity Committee, the Harvard Undergraduate Sikh Student Association, and the Institute of Politics were flagged for provisions in their constitution that violated a membership policy the DSO introduced at the end of the fall 2024 semester.

Under the policy, all registered student organizations cannot remove general members on their own authority. According to the DSO, only the College can remove a student as a member of a recognized organization.

Assistant Dean of Student Engagement and Leadership Andy Donahue said the policy reflects Harvard’s view of student organizations as educational spaces rather than disciplinary bodies.

“When students are removing members without going through a proper college process, there could be a denial of an educational opportunity,” he said, adding that he hoped students would turn to “experts” in the DSO with experience navigating personnel matters.

While the prohibition on member removal was made explicit in the 2024-25 Student Organization Resource Guide, Donahue said the DSO has long intervened in cases where students were removed by their peers.

The guide was distributed to student organizations at the end of the fall 2024 semester, but the DSO did not flag the specific policies that were changed at the time. Representatives for J4P, the PSC, and the IOP said their organizations had not removed members since the updated policies were distributed.

The updated policy allows student organizations to remove students from leadership positions if they fail to fulfill the responsibilities of their roles, provided organizations follow clearly defined, objective procedures, according to Donahue. However, students removed from leadership must be allowed to remain general members of the organization.

Three of the four organizations — the Sikh Student Association, J4P, and the IOP — were also flagged for noncompliance with Harvard’s Non-Discrimination and Anti-Bullying Policies.

Harvard updated its NDAB guidelines in January shortly after it settled two separate lawsuits over allegations of antisemitism, agreeing to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s controversial definition of antisemitism. The revised guidelines expanded protections to include political beliefs as a protected category.

In a Nov. 7 email to J4P, Donahue wrote that the DSO had concluded that the group’s constitution could permit members to be removed for their political beliefs, in violation of the political belief protection codified late last year.

Donahue pointed to a clause in their constitution that stated that “any member in violation of the mission, purpose, or guiding principles of HUJ4P may be expelled from the organization, subject to the judgment of the Officers.”

“It is understood that the officers of the organization could base removal on an individual’s political beliefs which would be a violation of the Non-Discrimination and Bullying Policy,” he wrote.

The constitution currently posted on the Student Organization Center’s online website no longer includes that language. Instead, it states that membership continues until a student graduates or otherwise leaves the University.

Though the PSC’s constitution contained the same membership clause as J4P’s, the PSC was flagged only for violating the student organization membership policy and not NDAB policies, according to a Nov. 14 email from Donahue.

The DSO also issued an NDAB-related concern with the IOP, citing a lack of clarity in its constitution regarding member removal. According to the IOP, the DSO requested earlier this semester in a meeting that the organization explicitly state that members cannot be removed except through a DSO ruling.

An updated version of the IOP constitution from December now includes a preamble reflecting that requirement.

Associate Dean for Student Engagement Jason Meier confirmed that the DSO had also issued warnings to other student groups for failing to directly include Harvard’s NDAB policies in their constitutions.

The constitution review is separate from the annual student organization reactivation process, which takes place in April. Meier said the DSO conducts reviews periodically, without a set timeline, when it has the capacity to do so.

“We regularly review constitutions just to ensure that, again, they are up to date with our ever-changing policies, procedures, laws,” Meier said, adding that starting the review process in the fall made sense for both the DSO’s and students’ schedules.

“October was a good time when we were done with pre-orientation and orientation,” he said.

While the ongoing review focuses only on organizations’ constitutions, according to Donahue, previous reviews have been conducted on separate issues, including ensuring organizations’ rosters are up to date.

Nearly 200 groups have been reviewed so far, and the DSO plans to complete reviews of all recognized groups by the beginning of the spring semester, ahead of the reactivation period.

—Staff writer Sebastian B. Connolly can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @SebastianC4784.

—Staff writer Summer E. Rose can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @summerellenrose.

—Staff writer Claire L. Simon can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @ClaireSimon.