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177
Harvard President Claudine Gay Resigns, Shortest Tenure in University History (www.thecrimson.com)
submitted 10 months ago by macarthur_park@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
32 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Gay’s resignation — just six months and two days into the presidency — comes amid growing allegations of plagiarism and lasting doubts over her ability to respond to antisemitism on campus after her disastrous congressional testimony Dec. 5.

Gay weathered scandal after scandal over her brief tenure, facing national backlash for her administration’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and allegations of plagiarism in her scholarly work.

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[–] dpkonofa@lemmy.world 106 points 10 months ago (3 children)

It’s sad to me that simply bringing enough negative attention, whether it’s warranted or not, is enough to get organizations to cave. They had a third party investigate her writing and they found it didn’t fall to the level of plagiarism. The people she supposedly plagiarized all agree that the technical nature of what she was summarizing wouldn’t make it plagiarism. The majority of students support her and the work she was doing.

I’m curious if any other Harvard President has ever had this level of scrutiny on their work come years after the fact. Feels like it’s people dishonestly taking objection just because they want to see her removed and now they’ve succeeded.

[–] ultranaut@lemmy.world 12 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I doubt any past Harvard prez has faced this much scrutiny, and I'm sure you would find plagiarism or worse among them if you did scrutinize them so extremely. That's not really an excuse though, and doesn't change the fact that the plagiarism issue is a real problem that wasn't going away so resigning was the only way to move past it.

[–] dpkonofa@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That’s what I’m saying, though… I don’t think anyone actually thought it was a problem until they decided they wanted her out. The supposed plagiarism was reviewed twice by independent bodies and they both said they couldn’t find an “intent to deceive or mislead”. They said that the quotations were negligent but wouldn’t be considered plagiarism in those instances and would typically be allowed to be submitted for revision.

If she was trying to pass off someone else’s words or thoughts as her own, that would be one thing. Missing a citation for a technical description doesn’t seem to fall under that umbrella.

[–] ultranaut@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes, and I'm saying this isn't a situation where nuanced discussions about plagiarism matter in the end. Whether she was just sloppy or did it with intent, there's an issue that people can point to, and given the current context those people aren't going to stop. I think she is right that to serve the institution she had to resign, I'm not saying it's ideal or just, but the situation is what it is and I believe she did the honorable thing.

[–] dpkonofa@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

I agree. They wouldn’t stop. It’s just a shame that that’s enough to derail everything. Why would anyone want that job when the school will just bow to any kind of political pressure as opposed to actual, objective issues with the way she’s performing the job.

[–] Silverseren@kbin.social 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

We all know that plagiarism was not the real issue here. It was a convenient excuse to call for her resignation, but it was the other thing listed above that was the real push by certain well known non-profit groups to get her fired.

[–] ultranaut@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

For sure. I'm not saying it is the real issue, just that it is a real issue.

[–] ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

The people she supposedly plagiarized all agree that the technical nature of what she was summarizing wouldn’t make it plagiarism.

I don't think that's correct. I haven't looked at the full list of people who were supposedly plagiarized, but at least one of them, Dr. Carol Swain, was calling for Dr. Claudine Gay to be fired.

[–] Silverseren@kbin.social 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This Carol Swain? Yeah, no, it has nothing to do with plagiarism, it has to do with Swain being pro-ethnic cleansing and is mad that Claudine Gay didn't expel all Palestinian students or some other extreme action to show loyalty to Israel.

[–] money_loo@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Holy shit that lady is insane.

She even somehow managed to blame Obama for starting all of this?!? wtf?

[–] Silverseren@kbin.social 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Don't you know that Obama is personally responsible for 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina?

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Fact: he did nothing to stop either.

[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

I stubbed my toe the other day and muttered "thanks Obama".

[–] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I know your argument is of semantics but I’d say it's not relevant either way. The determination should be done by objective third parties.

[–] calabast@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

So you're anti-semantic?

[–] dpkonofa@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

And it was, supposedly.

[–] dpkonofa@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago

While that is true, I don’t think she actually addressed the substance of the plagiarism claims. She just issued a blanket statement calling for her to be fired.

[–] blahsay@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

It's massive plagiarism actually. To the point she even copied the acknowledgement sections.....wtf.

[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 29 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Harvard. I remember having some respect for the institution, before learning about the legacy bullshit that props up the Ivy League schools. Now when I hear someone attended Harvard, the connotation is almost completely negative.

[–] Dud@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Behind the Bastards beat any respect I might of had out of me.

[–] sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'll have to check it out. I only started listening to them a couple months ago.

[–] Dud@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They've got a pretty good mojo going now with a decent group of returning guests. Some the early episodes can be a bit rough but I mean that's the same for anything. The Kissinger and Vince McMahon episodes are wild.

[–] Shyfer@ttrpg.network 1 points 10 months ago

I just downloaded the Kissinger episodes just to learn more about why people hated him. I didn't know it was like 6 parts or something like that. Plus, I'm a fan of The Dollop, who seem to be their first guest for these episodes. I'm so excited!

[–] TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.id 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

While I am definitely onboard with your skepticism of elite institutions such as Harvard, I urge caution in automatically attaching a negative connotation as a sort of reactionary default. More than one thing can be true at once and while it's entirely possible that our elitist system creates a lot of bullshit, it can also be true that our elite educational institutions create a lot of good.

[–] deweydecibel@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Of course they do.

That's why, if I hear someone attended an Ivy League school, I'll praise them when they demonstrate to me they are actually doing good in the world with their expensive degree. Until then, I see no reason not to call a spade a spade. Ivy League a nepotism laundering machine.

Besides, why should education even be elite? It's the same shit as the private schools that get so much praise. Why the hell should "the best" be gated to the few (who just so happen to be the wealthy or connected)?

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Here is the text of her resignation letter:

Good evening. This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office, where so many decisions have been made that shaped the history of this University. Each time I have done so to discuss with you some matter that I believe affected the student interest.

I would have preferred to carry through to the finish whatever the personal agony it would have involved, and my family unanimously urged me to do so. But the interest of the University must always come before any personal considerations.

From the discussions I have had with alumni and other administrators, I have concluded that because of the plagiarism matter I might not have the support of the student body that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the University would require.

I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my job is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interest of Harvard first.

Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

[–] ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

deleted by creator

[–] Hegar@kbin.social 11 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I'd not been following this story closely because it all seemed so utterly inconsequential. I couldn't understand why anyone was this angry that she followed a lawyers advice at a formal hearing.

Now I see that she's black in an important locus of elite power and it suddenly makes a lot more sense.

[–] Silverseren@kbin.social 16 points 10 months ago

More or less. And she took a neutral stance on the issue of students exhibiting their free speech, rather than expelling them all for not supporting Israel.

Which then led to all the certain well-known non-profits all about promoting Israel to start a furor calling for her resignation.

[–] blaine@lemmy.ml 0 points 10 months ago

I mean... even the Harvard Crimson has been posting op-eds from folks on the Academic Integrity Committee and student government calling for her resignation.

She fucked around (50+ instances of plagiarism) and found out (forced to resign).

[–] macarthur_park@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

The posted article is from Harvard’s student-run news organization, since it isn’t paywalled and it seems like an appropriate source. Some alternate (paywalled) sources:

NYTimes

WaPo

[–] Rapidcreek@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Yeah, but her resignation had nothing to do with the shitshow of a hearing.

Won't stop Stefanik from bragging, though.