Understand why the president of Harvard University, in the USA, resigned after demonstrations by pro-Palestinian students

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Claudine Gay was accused of conniving at anti-Semitic demonstrations and, after that, she began to be accused of plagiarism in academic articles, including her doctoral thesis. Claudine Gay on May 25, 2023 Brian Snyder/Reuters Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, one of the most traditional in the United States, resigned this Tuesday (2). She was under pressure to step down after giving testimony to the US Congress about anti-Semitism on the university campus. Since then, allegations began to surface that she had published academic articles with plagiarized excerpts from other studies. Gay had been in the position since July. Testimony in Congress The controversy began after pro-Palestinian demonstrations by students at US universities. Gay and other US university presidents were summoned to testify before Congress. During her testimony, Gay was asked whether demonstrations by Harvard students calling for the genocide of the Jewish people would be a violation of the university’s harassment rules. Gay then said the following: “They could be, depending on the context.” For Gay’s opponents, the phrase was evasive and not incisive enough. She later apologized for the sentence. After her testimony in Congress, accusations of plagiarism began to appear. Initially, three of her academic articles were analyzed. It was concluded that it did not violate research standards, but that there were citations that were made in error. The president stated that she would ask to insert corrections. Secondly, two other accusations of problems with citations of the president’s doctoral dissertation from 1997 appeared. On Monday (1st) new accusations emerged. She then resigned. Letter from Claudine Gay In her resignation letter, Gay states that “it is clear that what is best for Harvard University is for me to resign and for our community to navigate these challenging times with a focus on the institution, not an individual.” She also said that it is stressful that people have questioned their commitment to combating hate and adhering to academic rigor, which are “two values ​​fundamental to who I am, and it is frightening to be the subject of personal attacks and threats motivated by racial prejudice.”

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