Harvard ex-head warns US institutes of legitimacy, credibility attacks

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The New York Times
5 Jan 2024 11:00
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Claudine Gay continues to face a defamation, racist campaign even after her resignation.

Former Harvard University President Claudine Gay speaks during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on Capitol Hill, Dec. 5, 2023, in Washington. (AP)

Claudine Gay, Harvard's former President, revealed that she has been a target of defamation campaigns particularly surrounding her race following her resignation.

Claudine Gay announced her resignation on Tuesday, following backlash prompted by "Israel" from a collective congressional testimony she and her counterpart at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a former one at the University of Pennsylvania, gave on the state of antisemitism on campus, according to Reuters.

In a piece for The New York Times, Gay wrote, “Trusted institutions of all types – from public health agencies to news organizations – will continue to fall victim to coordinated attempts to undermine their legitimacy and ruin their leaders’ credibility," nudging at how she was forced out of her career following antisemitic allegations.

Gay, who made history as the first Black person to be president of Harvard, said she was targeted because she believed "that a daughter of Haitian immigrants has something to offer to the nation's oldest university."

"They recycled tired racial stereotypes about Black talent and temperament. They pushed a false narrative of indifference and incompetence."

The campaign came after she was accused of being antisemitic, although Gay was simply stating the code of conduct of her organization and under what context condemnation and action would be taken.

Allegations of using plagiarized work were also made against the former President, although scholars rejected these claims and said they were ungrounded.

Advocates against Gay revealed they aimed to obliterate the “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) programs, saying it wouldn't stop at the former Harvard President but would also reach significant figures in other American institutions.

Bill Ackman, a millionaire Harvard donor, took to X to express his concern against DEI programs and the possible promotion of "racism against white people" where they are implemented, following Gay's resignation.

In light of today’s news, I thought I would try to take a step back and provide perspective on what this is really all about.

I first became concerned about @Harvard when 34 Harvard student organizations, early on the morning of October 8th before Israel had taken any military…
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) January 3, 2024

US officials pounce to show their bias

However, despite the presence of a crushingly racist community that ousted Gay and her counterparts in other academic institutions, a petition was raised before any decisive action was taken to support the President at the time and to secure the right to freedom of speech on Harvard grounds.

Several hundred Harvard faculty members endorsed a petition supporting the university's President amid backlash over her participation in a congressional hearing focused on the increase in anti-Semitism.

The petition cautioned against succumbing to external pressure to dismiss Gay, emphasizing that doing so would contradict Harvard's dedication to academic freedom. It urges the administration to "defend the independence of the university," stating that “the critical work of defending a culture of free inquiry in our diverse community cannot proceed if we let its shape be dictated by outside forces.”

The petition followed a letter that was released Friday by Representative Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, signed by more than 70 mostly Republican members of Congress, which called for the removal of Gay, Sally Kornbluth, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania since March 2022.

It is abhorrent and heinous that Harvard student groups are blaming Israel for Hamas’ barbaric terrorist attacks that have killed over 700 Israelis. Any voice that excuses the slaughter of innocent women and children has chosen the side of evil and terrorism.

I am calling on the… https://t.co/fooS4ujJUY
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) October 9, 2023