"Was it the plagiarism scandals or anti-semitism that pushed donors over the edge"- Riley Gaines on Harvard President Claudine Gay's resignation

Riley Gaines recently reacted to Harvard president Claudine Gay’s controversial stepping down from her position. The 23-year-old made remarks on the 53-year-old’s alleged plagiarised academic work and statements on anti-semitism.

On Wednesday, Claudine Gay announced her resignation as Harvard's president after receiving mounting pressure to step down over the last few weeks. During a congressional hearing on the university campus on December 4, Gay made statements about anti-semitism.

This caused many politicians and high-profile personalities to demand Gay’s resignation. Moreover, the situation’s graveness deepened more when media outlets dug out several instances of alleged plagiarism in her academic work

It led Harvard’s board to investigate Claudine Gay’s academic work and ultimately found two published papers that required additional citations. However, as she did not violate standards for research misconduct, the university allowed Gay to resume work as a faculty member after resigning as president.

Reacting to Claudine Gay’s stepping down, Riley Gaines expressed her views on her X (formerly known as Twitter) handle. She wrote,

"Don't give her too much credit for doing the right thing. This was not a good-judgement move by Gay. She was pushed out."

Gaines added,

"Was it the plagiarism scandals or anti-semitism that pushed donors over the edge? Hm"

Gay wrote in her resignation statement,

"This is not a decision I came to easily."

She continued,

"But, after consultation with members of the (Harvard) Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual."

Her resignation marked her as the only president to step down within six months in Harvard’s 388-year history.

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Who is Claudine Gay?

Gay speaking during a hearing of the House Committee on Education on December 5

Claudine Gay was the 30th president of Harvard University. She attained the position on July 1, 2023, after succeeding Lawrence S. Bacow, who was president since 2018.

She joined Harvard University in 2006 as a professor in the Department of Government. Eventually, she also received the opportunity to serve as dean of social science for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. In 2015, she was also named the Wilbur A. Cowett Professor of Government at the university.

Gay was born in a Haitian immigrant family in the US. She spent much of her childhood in New York and then in Saudi Arabia, where her father worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Her mother was also a registered nurse.