Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned on Tuesday, drawing media perspectives.
Jumped The Shark: Bret Stephens (Lean Right bias) of New York Times Opinion (Left bias) opined that the “social-justice model of higher education currently centered on diversity, equity and inclusion” has undermined a merit-based culture, citing Gay’s lackluster resume as an example. Stephens said Affirmative Action has deeply damaged academia’s reputation and argued that “status without excellence is a rapidly wasting asset.” He added that respect for academia among “ordinary people” has been erased and that institutions should aim to “liberate the best minds, not to engineer social utopias.”
Opportunistic Firing: An opinion for The Forward (Center bias) said Gay’s “plagiarism kerfuffle” will soon be forgotten, but her angering of “rich pro-Israel donors, as well as opportunistic activists and politicians” will not be, which should be “chilling.” The writer added that American Jews, who understandably feel vulnerable, are now “swept up in a moral panic” where their “greatest fears are weaponized against the American liberalism that has welcomed Jews for a hundred years.”
Moral Rot: An opinion for The New York Post (Right bias) said Gay’s resignation is “just the start” and raises concerns over the integrity of Harvard’s board, which “threatened The Post and possibly others who dared question her background and qualifications.” The writer said the case goes beyond Harvard and “illustrates the moral rot that has turned many of the nation’s most prestigious campuses into leftist indoctrination factories.” Updated 1/3/24 at 7:51pm ET to specify that Stephens is rated Lean Right.
Claudine Gay and the Limits of Social Engineering at Harvard
I had written and filed a column about Harvard and its president, Claudine Gay, when news of her resignation broke on Tuesday afternoon after fresh allegations of plagiarism in her published work. I’d like to record what I wrote: “Cancel culture is always ugly and usually a mistake. If Gay is to go, let it be after more deliberation, with more decorum, and when pundits like me aren’t writing about her.” Oh, well.
How culture warriors weaponized Jewish grief and forced Harvard’s president to resign
In a few years, no one will remember ex-Harvard president Claudine Gay’s plagiarism kerfuffle.
All we’ll remember is that that she angered some rich pro-Israel donors, as well as opportunistic activists and politicians, and they got her fired.
That should be chilling.
Claudine Gay’s obnoxious, self-flattering resignation is just the start — Harvard needs to answer what took so long
It’s hardly a shock that Claudine Gay finally walked the plank at Harvard.
In a head-spinning series of developments, she had been exposed as indifferent to antisemitism, an academic fraud and a symbol of everything wrong with American higher education.
Because there was no legitimate case for keeping her on the job, her departure was only a matter of time.
I predicted the end would come during the Christmas-New Year break, when the campus is quiet and most students and faculty are away.