(AFP, New York, 2nd) Gay, the president of Harvard University in the United States, announced his resignation today after being accused of plagiarizing academic papers and testifying at a congressional hearing. He was criticized for being ambiguous in his testimony on how the school viewed anti-Semitism. Second Ivy League president to resign over anti-Semitic scandal. .
Since the Palestinian group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, anti-Semitic sentiment has grown on the campuses of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The three principals attended a congressional hearing to testify on the 5th of last month, but they attracted criticism from the outside world.
Three people were asked at a hearing in the Federal House of Representatives whether the call for “genocide of the Jews” by pro-Palestinian student activists violated the school’s code of conduct on harassment. All three were vague, saying that it depends on the situation at the time. 74 members of Congress wrote a letter demanding the immediate dismissal of three people.
Elizabeth Magill, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, resigned on the 9th of last month under strong pressure.
The Harvard Corporation, one of Harvard’s two governing boards, said in a statement on the 12th: “We reiterate today our support for President Claudine Gay to continue to lead Harvard University.”
But Harvard’s board of trustees did criticize Harvard’s initial response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, which Israel said killed 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in about 240 people being taken hostage.
Gay initially appeared to retain his position as president after more than 700 Harvard faculty members signed a letter of support.
Gay is the first African-American president of Harvard since its founding and the second female president of Harvard University. She took office in July last year and has been in office for just over six months, making her the shortest-term president in the history of Harvard University.
In her resignation letter, Gay said she suffered physical threats and “racial hostility.” (Translator: Chen Zhengyi)
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2024-01-02 22:50:02
