By Saanvi Sharma
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Harvard, the prestigious university that is so hard to get into, only the smartest, most qualified candidates get in. In the past week Harvard president, Claudine Gay resigned from her position after it was being questioned during a period of accusations of plagiarism and anti-Semitism. This situation has an impact on the students safety on the campus but also makes people uneasy about universities, knowing that one of the very best is going through something like this.
Dr. Gay is the first black woman to be a Harvard president, and has had the shortest term in Harvard’s 387 year history.
She is not the first president to resign. Recently, MIT president resigned after a congressional hearing being questioned whether the students that called for the genocide of jews should be punished.
Claudine gay may still have been the president if not for her poor response to the campus conflict over the war in Gaza. During a congressional hearing she was asked if the calling for genocide of Jews would be considered harassment under Harvard’s code of conduct. She said that “it can be, depending on the context”. This triggered many people to go against her.
Gay also remained silent when student groups wrote papers stating that Israel was ‘entirely responsible for the violence’ happening in Palestine. However, later after hearing people’s feelings of fear and sadness she made a more firm statement, taking what she said back.
Following this, many people found plagiarized parts in her scholarships, which gave people another motive to dislike her. Those who complained about her plagiarism claimed that at Harvard, including many other schools, there is a very strict plagiarism policy that students are required to follow. Being the president, Gay should be abiding by these rules as well as being a figure for these students.
The number of applicants this year for early action at Harvard has dropped by 17%, signs that this controversy may have had an effect on Harvard’s reputation.
Claudine resigned on her own will, saying that it was better for the students and the university for her to leave, which many people thought was the right thing for her to do.
Later she said she fell into a ‘well laid trap’ at the hearing and that she should have enforced the fact that no student deserves to be discriminated, and calling for the genocide of any group of people is morraly wrong and unethical.
This is a great shock to many people as universities are a place where students of all backgrounds can come together in a peaceful and educational manner. By resigning, Claudine hopes to restore Harvard’s reputation and the students’ feeling of inclusiveness and safety.
