Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University. Revelations of plagiarism in her academic work were first publicised weeks ago. The next day she resigned, a mere six months into her post the shortest tenure in Harvard’s history. She determined that this was in the university’s best interests. Plagiarism did for Ms Gay, a political scientist by training. But the pressure on her to step down began with her response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7th. Critics—Harvard donors, professors, politicians assailed her for not immediately condemning the violence and not disavowing a statement by pro-Palestinian students that blamed Israel. Do you think that Claudine Gay was targeted because of the color of her skin ?
