New Delhi: Weeks after her response on whether a call for “genocide of Jews” would amount to harassment and stand in violation of Harvard University’s policies and conduct drew flak, Harvard University President Claudine Gay on Tuesday stepped down from the post. She has been facing massive pressure to resign, reported BBC, after her reply that call for “genocide of Jews” would be violative of University conduct if the “speech turns into conduct”.
In her resignation letter, Gay said the decision was not an easy one and she took the step “in the best interests of Harvard” so that the University focuses on the “institution rather than any individual.”
According to a Harvard University leadership update, Claudine Gay said in her letter: “This is not a decision I came to easily…I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great University across centuries. 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.”
She further said, “I believe in the people of Harvard because I see in you the possibility and the promise of a better future. These last weeks have helped make clear the work we need to do to build that future — to combat bias and hate in all its forms, to create a learning environment in which we respect each other’s dignity and treat one another with compassion, and to affirm our enduring commitment to open inquiry and free expression in the pursuit of truth.”
Notably, a Congressional hearing was held in early December last year amidst the increasing antisemitism calls at university campuses triggered by the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East and Ivy League university presidents were made to answer some questions on the issue. Their response stirred chaos as Republicans and Democrats expressed shock over lack of clarity in the answers to the question which sought only ‘Yes’ OR ‘No’.
