Rally Anchors Largest Turnout Yet at Graduate Student Strike

More than 130 demonstrators gathered at a midday rally in the Science Center Plaza on Thursday, marking the largest turnout of the graduate student strike so far as picketing briefly paused.

Ahead of the rally, protesters formed a loose circle outside the Science Center, holding signs and chanting while organizers led calls highlighting union demands, including third-party arbitration in Title IX cases.

“Do you trust Harvard to find itself guilty?” organizers shouted, drawing a response from the crowd.

The demonstration settled into a steady rhythm as participants beat drums and plastic buckets, joined by the sounds of a trombone and kazoos.

At about 1 p.m., picketing stopped and demonstrators moved toward the center of the plaza for the rally, clustering around the HGSU-UAW tent. The gathering drew additional attendees, including undergraduates, local officials, and representatives from labor organizations.

“Harvard might be stalling, but we’ve never been more active!” shouted Edan P. Larkin, a union organizer.

Larkin, a third-year history doctoral student and teaching fellow, opened the rally, marking the start of an hourlong pause in picketing. After leading chants, Larkin introduced Cambridge City Councilor Jivan G. Sobrinho-Wheeler, State Rep. Mike L. Connolly, and State Rep. Marjorie C. Decker, who each spoke in support of the demonstrators and urged the University to uphold its commitment to academic freedom.

Other labor leaders echoed those themes.

“Our institutions simply fall apart without the labor we provide,” said Justin Halloran, a regional vice president of the SEIU Committee of Interns and Residents in New England. “These are the floor, not the ceiling of what justice looks like.”

The rally concluded shortly after 2:10 p.m., and demonstrators returned to picketing. Nearly 100 remained in the plaza, continuing to chant, some accompanied by violins, flutes, and cymbals.