A Black woman in a position of power answered “incorrectly” to a loaded question at a congressional hearing. This question held significant potential ramifications, and what ultimately resulted was Harvard’s President, Claudine Gay, having her reputation stripped and her character forever butchered.
“At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment?”
– Republican Representative Elise M. Stefanik
President Gay, demonstrating an understanding of the nuance and context of this politically divisive situation, stated it can vary depending on the context and when it targets individuals.
We all knew—well, at least some of us knew—what she meant and what was going on. She was clear that antisemitism has no place in their community, but most importantly, it was recognized that if she had answered ‘yes’, it would have sullied any pro-Palestinian speech or activities. If the bias wasn’t obvious enough, it should also be noted that the US Congress is pro-Zionist. By using language that supports Israel’s current actions in the Gaza-Israel conflict—which is not considered heinous both at Harvard and in Congress—you are supporting genocide. Yet, none of that was recognized or questioned during the hearing. On the flip side, claiming to support Gaza is considered the equivalent of spouting hatred.
Even so, could she have answered better? She admitted that was the case. Though under pressure in Congress to answer these pointed questions, not to mention recognizing that hindsight is 20/20, it’s more than forgivable. The real answer is that, in the end, no matter how she answered, she would have been blamed. Unfortunately, given her response, conservatives and much of the media ignored this nuance and targeted her as an antisemitic demon.
What she said wasn’t grounds for termination, so opponents had to find a way to axe her. They dug deep through her life story, and after finding nearly nothing, there was just one small nugget: plagiarism. Upon their findings, they held on, waiting for the precise time to use it, dubbing it as the “final nail in Gay’s coffin.”
This was further supported by billionaire Bill Ackman, a powerful man previously known as one of the individuals who demanded the release of the names of students who signed a letter holding Israel accountable for the violence in the Gaza-Israel conflict. He vowed to dig up more instances of plagiarism and even made racist claims by suggesting she was essentially a “diversity hire,” all the while taking aim at proven DEI initiatives. Some time after Bill Ackman thrust himself into the plagiarism spotlight, Business Insider found that his wife, who holds a PhD, also engaged in apparent plagiarism. As of this writing, Ackman has vowed to now take on the media; it’s not clear what the outcome will be.
After the hearing, amidst the outrage and allegations, the Harvard community immediately came to her defense. This included a petition signed by hundreds of faculty, another where large numbers of Black alumni commended her in a letter, and regarding plagiarism, Harvard released a statement:
On December 9, the Fellows reviewed the results, which revealed a few instances of inadequate citation. While the analysis found no violation of Harvard’s standards for research misconduct, President Gay is proactively requesting four corrections in two articles to insert citations and quotation marks that were omitted from the original publications.
– Harvard
So not only did Claudine Gay not violate Harvard’s research standards, but she also went out of her way to get them corrected. There is nothing wrong with this either, as corrections are part of everyday science and research. Arguably more so, in the field of education where ideas and notions frequently overlap, it’s easy for even the experts to make mistakes.
Going back to the Congressional hearing situation, there was no mistake: this was never about plagiarism. A Congress filled with Zionists and wealthy elites who don’t understand education and research did not like her answers, so they took it upon themselves to find a way to rid her, and they did. In the end, inevitably, President Gay stepped down. Since she did not violate any of Harvard’s policies, including the ones about plagiarism, she will instead now fulfill the role of professor.
Claudine Gay’s plight reminds me of how many westerners will ignore all sanity to defend Israel’s genocide, as well as continually engage in blatant racism on their home soil. It’s a deadly mix. With support from congress, wealthy aristocrats utilized racist and demeaning tactics to leverage support for Zionist ideals, and the (white) western public and media unquestionably followed suit. The outcome was already set in stone. It’s undoubtably vile, and I can only hope in my lifetime that we’ll somehow come to terms with what we’re doing.