More than 630 Harvard faculty have signed a petition in support of President Claudine Gay following her House hearing on campus protests over Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza. Jay and two other deans, Liz Magill from the University of Pennsylvania, who resigned yesterday, and Sally Kornbluth from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ended up in the crosshairs of 70 representatives demanding their resignation, most of whom were Republican politicians. The petition, started by 14 professors, argues that the politicization of the hearing cannot lead to Jay’s dismissal and that academic freedom cannot be subject to political pressure.
What happened at the House hearing?
The president of a prestigious American university was questioned in the House of Representatives about the student code of conduct and whether or not action has been taken against users who threaten or support the Jewish genocide. His answers were not very convincing. The moments were shared on social media by Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. Stefanik asks: “At your university, is calling for the genocide of Jews considered bullying or aggression or not?” “It depends on the context,” Jay replied. Worse statements were also heard in the room, such as Rector Magill covering himself by saying that “it depends on behaviour: only if words turn into action.”
Funders are at risk of stopping giving to Harvard
Today he confirms that if Jay receives support from faculty funders printingThey risk ceasing to make donations to the American University. Bill Ackman, the billionaire Harvard graduate, has been running a campaign for weeks calling for greater community initiatives blackboard University to protect Jewish students. “As a result of President Jay’s failure to strengthen Harvard’s rules, Jewish students, faculty, and others now fear for their safety because physical assaults on students go unpunished,” he wrote in an open letter to the Board of Trustees shortly before its meeting. Sunday. And finally: “Knowing what you know now, would you consider Claudine Guy for the position (president, editor)?” The answer is definitely no.”