Harvard Students Write Op-Ed Calling For President Claudine Gay’s Resignation

Students call for Harvard President Claudine Gay to resign in a new op-ed for "The Harvard Crimson."

Harvard students have publicly called for President Claudine Gay’s resignation in an op-ed for the school’s newspaper. Gay is being urged to step down amidst scandals involving plagiarism accusations and anti-semitism comments.

Posted by the Harvard Crimson on Dec. 31, two Harvard students and staff writers shared their dissenting opinion, “For Harvard’s Sake, It’s Time To Let Gay Go.”

“It has been less than half a year since Gay assumed one of the most prestigious posts in all of academia,” wrote Brooks B. Anderson and Joshua A. Kaplan. “Since then, scandal after scandal has plagued our beloved university.”

They noted how the “prestigious” role is influential in academia and in a global political landscape. With these two facets in mind, the authors argued that Gay has failed to provide the leadership necessary to fulfill this role seamlessly, first referencing how her words regarding anti-semitism on campus in the wake of the Israeli-Hamas conflict have drawn substantial criticism from conservatives. Gay later apologized, only to be met with allegations of plagiarism in her academic work shortly after. However, Harvard’s governing committee found the severity of these claims unfounded but did acknowledge that some citations must be added. Gay obliged.

“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,” the writers sated.

Crimson editors wrote another op-ed in support of Gay, whose appointment as Harvard’s first Black female president was considered a stride in diversity for the esteemed school. The writers still hold faith in the academic leader, noting that much of her criticism stems from an agenda by extremist conservatives wanting to belittle or delegitimize Gay’s ability to perform this role.

“Many of the recent calls for Gay’s resignation suggest or allege outright that she was a ‘diversity hire’ or a product of ‘DEI extremism.’ The blatant racism of these criticisms only corroborates that they come in bad faith,” wrote the editorial board.