'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University, is currently facing severe backlash online. On Tuesday, December 5, at a congressional hearing, legislators questioned Claudine Gay regarding Harvard's antisemitic policy and how the university strikes a balance with its commitment to free speech. In the same context, Representative Elise Stefanik questioned,
“At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment, yes or no?”
Gay answered,
“It can be, depending on the context”
Netizens, Harvard alumni, and several Harvard supporters were quite critical of this answer. However, amid calls for her removal, as of Monday afternoon, December 11, over 500 faculty members had signed a letter to the Harvard Corporation, requesting the university's main governing body to keep Claudine Gay as the President.
The professors signed a brief petition regarding the same, and handed it to the 13-member Harvard Corporation, which has the authority to remove Claudine Gay as president of the university, on Sunday, December 10. According to a co-author of the petition, more professors have expressed their intention to sign in favor of the same.
After the news was made public by the NY Post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the incident garnered further backlash from netizens. X users took to the comment section of the post to criticize the university, its faculties, and its policies.
Netizens criticize Harvard university and its faculties for supporting Claudine Gay and signing letter against her removal
The aftermath of the congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses is reportedly still being felt in certain public spaces. Claudine Gay has apparently been under increasing pressure since Saturday, December 9, when University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned.
Following her appearance at the congressional hearing on Tuesday, Gay faced growing criticism and requests for her resignation. The Corporation and the Harvard Board of Overseers met for their planned meeting regarding the same, as more than seventy members of Congress demanded her resignation after the hearing.
However, on Sunday, hundreds of Harvard University academic members signed a petition, urging the school's officials to resist political pressure to remove the president due to her appearance before Congress regarding antisemitism on campus.
Therefore, despite the requests of politicians, alumni, and donors to remove her from the position, the university has directly rejected their plea.
As soon as the news was made public on X by NY Post, netizens took to their social media accounts to criticize the move. Many have taken to the comment section of the post to condemn the university and the faculties.
Later, the president of Harvard University apologized for the comments she had made in front of Congress last week. However, netizens are still upset with Claudine Gay, and many continue to demand for her removal.
Since the beginning of the Hamas-Israel conflict on October 7, several Jewish students, families, and alumni have accused institutions of allegedly allowing antisemitism to grow, particularly in statements made by pro-Palestinian activists.
This comes after Israel launched a huge retaliation following the initial attack, that has resulted in the deaths of nearly 17,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
