Harvard Dean’s Past Posts Show Hostility Toward Conservatives, Whites, and Police

By Christopher J. O’Meara

A recent investigation by Yard Report, a Harvard-focused news outlet, has uncovered a series of inflammatory X posts by Gregory Davis, the Allston Burr Resident Dean of Dunster House. The remarks include expressions of hostility toward Republicans, White people, law enforcement, and President Donald Trump.

As Resident Dean, Davis works directly with students and represents them before Harvard’s Administrative Board, which handles disciplinary and academic issues.

In his official biography, Davis describes himself as “a Black, queer, neurodivergent (ADHD), first-generation, public school graduate from Detroit.” He adds that his office “is as open and inclusive as the rest of [him],” urging students to “feel comfortable showing off [their] whole self with [him].”

Yet the record of Davis’s public commentary, spanning multiple social-media platforms, suggests a hostility at odds with the inclusive spirit his biography proclaims.

Screenshots archived by Yard Report show that Davis’s posts targeted a wide range of groups and individuals. Davis appeared to endorse wishing death upon President Donald Trump and later compared him to “the worst of” Adolf Hitler. In other posts, he expressed indifference toward the deaths of Republicans, disdain for White people, and contempt for law enforcement officers.

He also defended rioting and looting as legitimate political action, writing in one post that such acts “are parts of democracy like voting and marching.”

The statements, made publicly over several years, were still visible on his social accounts until the publication of Yard Report’s October 8 exposé (I encourage readers to read the original report for themselves). Since then, Davis has made his X and Facebook profiles private. His Instagram account, however, remains publicly viewable.

One recent instagram post uncovered by The Harvard Salient, dated June 8, 2024, while Davis was serving as Interim Resident Dean, reads: “Wishing everyone a great Pride. Remember to love each other and hate the police.”

The post appeared only one month before his official appointment to the Dunster House deanship.

All of the social-media content documented in the Yard Report investigation predates Davis’s appointment. This timeline raises two possible explanations: either Harvard’s hiring committee failed to conduct a basic review of his public posts, or it did so and concluded that such views were not disqualifying.

If the former, the oversight represents a striking lapse for a university that routinely emphasizes inclusion and student welfare. If the latter, it suggests a troubling tolerance for open hostility toward politically or racially defined groups—provided those groups fall outside the prevailing liberal orthodoxy.

Davis’s public remarks pose a clear concern for students who fall within the demographics he has disparaged—Republicans, conservatives, White students, or those pursuing careers in law enforcement or public service. As Resident Dean, Davis advises students on personal crises, writes recommendations, and often serves as a moral authority within House life.

“If this is how he feels publicly, what confidence can students have that he treats everyone equally in private?” one student asked, requesting anonymity to avoid reprisal.

This comes just over a month after Harvard College Dean David J. Deming, PhD ’10 issued statements to The Harvard Crimson on the importance for the wellbeing of conservative students.

“We want [conservatives] to feel free not just to speak your mind, but to be physically safe,” Deming said. “I hope you will always feel that way despite what’s going on in the world.”

The comments were given at a reception for conservative students at the residence of Dean of Students Thomas G. Dunne, shortly after the assassination of political commentator Charlie Kirk.

“What most stands out in the context of the College and what we’re trying to do here at Harvard is, here’s a person who went out of his way to find people he disagreed with, bring them forward, give them a platform, and have a conversation with them,” Deming said of Kirk’s legacy.

Neither Davis nor Harvard College responded to requests for comment from The Harvard Salient. The university has not indicated whether any disciplinary review is underway.

Yard Report has called for Davis’s removal, arguing that “his ideology is unbefitting of American society, let alone its most elite institution of higher education.”

Whether Harvard will take action—or maintain silence—remains uncertain. For now, Dunster House students must decide for themselves whether their Resident Dean’s promise of openness and inclusivity still holds true.