Boston Mayor Michelle Wu canceled an event at Harvard University scheduled for April 30 after 11 student affinity groups sponsoring the event pulled their support. This largely came after Wu and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox sent Boston police officers to break up the “Popular University Encampment” in the 2 Boylston Place Alley on Emerson’s campus. 

According to the Harvard Crimson, the event was organized by the Asian American Foundation, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., whose mission is “to serve the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in their pursuit of belonging and prosperity that is free from discrimination, slander, and violence.” 

However, AAPI affinity groups at Harvard withdrew their support for the event mainly in criticism of Wu’s response to the Emerson encampment, where members of the Boston and Massachusetts State police forces removed 118 protesters.

The Harvard AAPI affinity groups that withdrew their support include: 

• Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association
• Harvard Asian American Women’s Association
• Harvard-Radcliffe Chinese Students Association
• Harvard Korean Association
• Harvard Undergraduate Philippine Forum
• Harvard South Asian Association
• Harvard Undergraduate Hawai’i Club
• Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association
• Harvard Undergraduate Tibetan Cultural Association
• Harvard Taiwanese Cultural Society
• Task Force for Asian American Progressive Advocacy and Studies

In a statement posted to Instagram, the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations wrote that “A Conversation with Mayor Michelle Wu and the Asian American Foundation” would be canceled due to “escalating tensions on [Harvard’s] campus and after careful consideration and consultation with the Boston Mayor’s Office.” 

The Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association also released a statement on their withdrawal from co-sponsoring the event. 

“Recent events at Emerson College, particularly the removal of the pro-Palestinian encampment and subsequent statements made by Michelle Wu in support of the Boston Police Force, have come to our attention and concern,” the statement read. “AAA stands against police brutality on all college campuses. We hope everyone stays safe in this critical time and that student voices are uplifted and amplified.”Harvard students set up an encampment on Harvard Yard on Wednesday, and it has since grown in size. Harvard officials began photographing protesters’ student ID cards, becoming one of many universities keeping track of students involved in encampments protesting the war in Gaza.