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Harvard Crimson editorial board SPLITS over embattled president Claudine Gay and two members call for her to quit over anti-semitism denial debacle and plagiarism claims

Harvard Crimson editorial board SPLITS over embattled president Claudine Gay and two members call for her to quit over anti-semitism denial debacle and plagiarism claims

Internashonal

Harvard Crimson editorial board SPLITS over embattled president Claudine Gay and two members call for her to quit over anti-semitism denial debacle and plagiarism claims



By Claudia Aoraha, Senior Reporter For Dailymail.Com

17:28 31 Dec 2023, updated 17:57 31 Dec 2023

  • Two Crimson editorial board writers have blasted their colleagues for not reckoning with Gay’s ‘failures’ and have come out against the board’s beliefs 
  • The writers went on to say that students at Harvard are ‘exhausted’ of checking the news and seeing the school’s failures every day 



Harvard University’s student newspaper’s editorial board has split over the state of embattled president Claudine Gay – as two dissenting writers said the college deserves a leader ‘who can do better.’  

The Crimson, founded in 1873, has decided to back Gay despite the swirling antisemitism and plagiarism allegations lodged against her in the last three months.  

But two Crimson editorial board writers have blasted their colleagues for not reckoning with Gay’s ‘failures’ and have come out against the board’s beliefs. 

The opinion piece – titled ‘ For Harvard’s Sake, It’s Time to Let Gay Go,’ came with the disclaimer: ‘Occasionally, the Crimson Editorial Board is divided about the opinion we express in a staff editorial. 

Harvard President Claudine Gay now faces a Congressional investigation into dozens of allegations of plagiarism that have surfaced since her derided testimony at the Capitol on campus anti-Semitism

‘In these cases, dissenting board members have the opportunity to express their opposition to staff opinion.’ 

The student journalists, Brooks Anderson and Joshua Kaplan, wrote: ‘Harvard’s presidency is no mere empty honor; it is a deeply challenging managerial job with deeply challenging duties, not least of which is navigating national outcry. 

‘In each of these respects, Gay has failed. The Harvard Corporation must find a leader who can do better.’

They added: ‘Because our peers avoid reckoning with the severity of Gay’s failures, dismissing instances of explicit plagiarism as insufficient to warrant her resignation, we respectfully dissent.

‘One doesn’t need to look far to see that Harvard isn’t running smoothly — these scandals disrupt teaching and research, Harvard’s core missions.’

Brooks Anderson
Joshua Kaplan

The writers went on to say that students at Harvard are ‘exhausted’ of checking the news and seeing the school’s failures every day – as well as the constant ‘noisemakers and megaphones’ disrupting their classes. 

This is a reference to the unrelenting pro-Palestine protests that have been occurring on campus since October 7. 

Joshua Kaplan is a 2026 graduate, studying computer science, while Anderson reads Government and is finishing his Harvard studies in 2025.  

This break in the Crimson board follows news that Harvard now faces a Congressional investigation over its handling of plagiarism allegations made against embattled president Claudine Gay – even as new claims of lifting others’ work emerge.

Gay has faced plagiarism allegations and calls for her removal after disastrous congressional testimony where she refused to denounce antisemtism. 

She has submitted ‘corrections’ to some articles, but Harvard has let her remain in her position despite both issues.

Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce announced in a letter that it’s widening the scope of it’ probe into Gay, according to a letter written by Rep. Virginia Foxx.

‘The House Committee on Education and the Workforce has begun a review of Harvard University’s handling of credible allegations of plagiarism by President Claudine Gay over a period of 24 years,’ Foxx writes.

‘An allegation of plagiarism by a top school official at any university would be reason for concern, but Harvard is not just any university. It styles itself as one of the top educational institutions in the country,’ the letter, which was signed by dozens of members of Congress, continues.

The committee had already opened a probe into antisemitism at the Harvard campus following Gay’s Congress testimony that was heavily criticized. 

Top Republicans have already called for withholding billions in federal funding to universities supportive of anti-Semitism in order to root out the ‘rot’ in American higher education.

‘If a university is willing to look the other way and not hold faculty accountable for engaging in academically dishonest behavior, it cheapens its mission and the value of its education,’ Foxx added.

Foxx warned Harvard could lose funding if it’s found to have not taken the plagiarism allegations seriously.

Backlash erupted after the presidents of Harvard, UPenn and MIT failed to unequivocally condemn the genocide of Jews during a hearing on anti-Semitism on Capitol Hill. 

Harvard has received over $3 billion in taxpayer dollars between 2018 and 2022 and also enjoys tax breaks on its massive endowment. Between those same years, Harvard’s endowment totaled over $50 billion, of which $2 billion got special tax treatment, according to an OpenTheBooks analysis.

‘We must DEFUND the rot in America’s higher education,’ House GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik told DailyMail.com in a statement.



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