Tipsheet

When It Comes to Claudine Gay, Harvard Board Appears More Worried About Letting Republicans Win

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  December 11, 2023 3:45 PM

On Monday the Harvard Corporation met, with the Harvard’s Board of Overseers having already met on Sunday to discuss the fate of embattled president, Dr. Claudine Gay, whose appearance before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce last week was severely lacking. This is especially with regards to her non-answers in response to Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) asking if calls for genocide against Jews constitutes bullying and harassment. The University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned last Saturday after her appearance at the hearing, though as Katie pointed out, she was given "a bailout." 

While taking action against Gay would be the worthwhile move, The New York Times is reporting that Harvard's board doesn't want it to look like Stefanik was able to "force" it. Mediaite's Caleb Howe covered the report in the context of the board feeling conflict in letting Stefanik "win."

The report, including the headline of how "As Harvard President Faces Pressure to Resign, Some Faculty Show Support," focuses on what support Gay does have left. Buried at the end, though, is mention of how Stefanik's exchange with Gay factors in here, with added emphasis:

The Harvard president’s future at the school is expected to be discussed during the Harvard Corporation’s meeting on Monday, people briefed on the meeting said. The meeting was long scheduled, but the topic of Dr. Gay’s fate became front and center after her congressional testimony on Tuesday. 

People familiar with the closed-door debate over Dr. Gay’s future also said there was a tension between what some people on the Corporation board view as her mishandling of the questions and a desire not to allow Ms. Stefanik and other critics to force an ouster on the board.

They also noted an important difference with the situation at the University of Pennsylvania. There, they said, pressure had been mounting for weeks on Ms. Magill, including calls for her resignation. Until the congressional hearing, Dr. Gay was not facing similarly strong criticism.

Another curious part downplays the criticism that Gay received for handling the antisemitism on campus, especially when it comes to the aftermath of the October 7 attack that Hamas perpetrated against Israel. As Townhall covered, Harvard students were among those who quickly jumped to support Hamas and condemn Israel. Harvard responded by protecting those students, by setting up a task force. Pro-Israel students have also been confronted and assaulted during their own demonstrations.

The report also made no mention of Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager and alumni who has been calling on Harvard to take a stronger stance from the start. A pinned post of his from Sunday includes a letter he sent to the governing board of directors.

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As his letter started off:

In her short tenure as President, Claudine Gay has done more damage to the reputation of Harvard University than any individual in our nearly 500-year history.

Because of her failure to condemn the most vile and barbaric terrorism the world has ever seen, for supporting rather than condemning 34 Harvard-branded student organizations who hold Israel “entirely responsible” for Hamas’ barbaric acts, for failing to enforce Harvard’s own rules on student conduct, and for her other failures of leadership, President Gay catalyzed an explosion of antisemitism and hate on campus that is unprecedented in Harvard’s history.

In light of Harvard’s leadership position, President Gay’s mishandling of October 7th and its aftermath on campus have led to the metastasis of antisemitism to other universities and institutions around the world.

"As a result of President Gay’s failure to enforce Harvard’s own rules, Jewish students, faculty and others are fearful for their own safety as even the physical abuse of students remains unpunished," he also pointed out.

To suggest that it is Stefanik who would "force" the ousting is absurd, given that the congresswoman was asking what should have been very easy questions that these current and former university presidents chose to answer in the ways that they did. Other troubles exist for Gay, none of which are Stefanik or any other member's doing, including how it appears she plagarized sections of her thesis, as Matt and our sister site of Twitchy have covered, pointing to not just posts from Christopher Rufo, but Dr. Carol M. Swain, who says Gay stole her work.

What backpedaling that Gay has tried to do has come too little too late, from posts shared to Harvard's X account, to an interview with the Harvard Crimson. All of what she said could and should have been said during last Tuesday's hearing, though.

This isn't even The New York Times most absurd framing of the situation. "As Fury Erupts Over Campus Antisemitism, Conservatives Seize the Moment," read a Sunday headline. They had problematic covering immediately following the hearing as well. "Republicans Try to Put Harvard, M.I.T. and Penn on the Defensive About Antisemitism" read a headline about the hearing from last Tuesday.

It's not just conservatives, though. Last Friday, Stefanik was joined by Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and 72 other House members from both parties who wrote a letter calling for the removal of Magill, Gay, and MIT President Sally Kornbluth, who was also present at the hearing where she gave less than satisfactory responses.

"It is rare that our Congress has been able to accomplish anything in recent years in a bipartisan fashion, let alone in a matter of days. Congress’ decisive action here speaks volumes," Ackman mentioned in his own letter about this bipartisan effort.

Such a focus on conseratives is on par with the cold open of the most recent "Saturday Night Live" that mocked Stefanik in a most unfunny manner. Lindsay suggested it "was the worst sketch they've ever done" in her latest video.

But sure, it's Republican members worth worrying about here.