Harvard Police are investigating claims made by the activist group Reclaim Harvard Law that a clandestine (audio) recording device was planted under a table at the Caspersen Student Center Lounge (or “Belinda Hall” as Reclaim calls it).
The group alleges the device was discovered on Tuesday, “and contained recordings of their conversations and events since last Saturday.”
Reclaim said in a press release that the audio “included personal conversations between students, a sexual assault bystander training at which victims recounted their assaults, and Boston-area residents sharing stories of eviction from their homes.”
The title of press release — “First Black Tape, Then Illegal Surveillance of Black Students – Have Things at Harvard Gone Too Far?” — invokes the never-solved Harvard Law “black tape” incident in which someone had placed black tape over the portraits of black Law School professors.
But just as the culprit could never be determined in the tape case, it appears this recording episode may end up similarly — for the Reclaim students declined to hand over to Harvard Police any evidence of the supposed surveillance.
“It was just really scary,” second-year Law student and Reclaim Harvard Law member Simratpal Kaur said. “We were really surprised that anyone who maybe disagreed with our movement would go to this length.”
The students said they waited several days to report their discovery to the school so they could seek legal counsel and ensure that the people recorded on the device would be protected. They came forward with their finding in the press release Friday, and once notified, Law School spokesperson Robb London said administrators referred the matter to the Harvard University Police Department.
Massachusetts state law states that all parties must consent to being recorded, and prohibits secretly recording communications. Violators of the law can face up to $10,000 in fines and five years in prison.
Up to $10K in fines? This makes the fact that no evidence was turned over appear even more dubious.
Just as the fruitless black tape investigation increased the belief that the whole affair was nothing but a hoax, this current refusal to cooperate, coupled with rhetoric like student Titilayo Rasaki’s in the Reclaim press release, will only lead to additional cynicism.
Read the full Crimson article and Reclaim press release.
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