Harvard’s President is a perfect fit
If the authors from whom you plagiarize say it’s ok, well, then, it’s ok!
If the authors from whom you plagiarize say it’s ok, well, then, it’s ok!
Harvard Corporation’s Support for President Claudine Gay
That was the upshot of the Harvard Corporation’s message to “members of the Harvard Community” on Tuesday announcing their “full support” for university president and serial plagiarist Claudine Gay. Their note obliquely referred to “a few instances of inadequate citation” and to Gay’s “proactive” request to have them corrected.
In other words: reporters have been asking questions about Gay’s plagiarism for months, and she and her defenders on the Harvard Corporation – which includes the former president of Princeton University, Shirley Tilghman, and the former president of Amherst College, Biddy Martin – helped her batten down the hatches. Late in the day, five former Harvard presidents joined the chorus, too.
The Harvard Crimson, which limply and unenthusiastically substantiated reports of Gay’s decades-long record of plagiarism, talked to scholars like Lawrence Bobo—one of the many authors from whom Gay cribbed, er, inadequately cited—who told the paper he was “unconcerned” that Gay quoted him and his colleague, Gary King, without proper attribution.
Sure, Gay violated the standards to which Harvard holds its own students. Sure, she did the same and worse to dozens of other scholars. But Harvard’s 30th president isn’t a plagiarist. And besides, isn’t imitation the highest form of flattery? Take notes, Harvard students. And Princeton students. And Amherst students.
What the Crimson didn’t mention is that Bobo, the dean of social sciences at Harvard, was appointed to his role five years earlier by Gay, when she was dean of Harvard’s faculty of arts and sciences. She’s not just his boss, she’s his patron. Gay’s dissertation advisor, Gary King, and her former classmate, Stephen Voss, also defended the Ivy League apparatchik who absconded with their work.
What none of them, least of all the members of the Harvard Corporation, want to say out loud, is that Gay wasn’t tapped for her scholarship, and they aren’t about to hold her to the standards of a serious scholar. Obviously.
No, Gay was chosen for a different set of credentials – her race, gender, political views, and religious devotion to DEI – and she is delivering on her promise to rededicate the university to identity politics.
To that end, she engineered the defenestration of Roland Fryer, allegedly on Title IX charges, after the star black economist ruffled feathers by debunking myths of rampant police violence. She helped strip Ronald Sullivan, a black Harvard Law professor, of an administrative post because he served on Harvey Weinstein’s defense team. She even dismissed allegations of research fraud against Ryan Enos, a Harvard government professor, who just so happened to find that Republicans are racist—a recurring theme in Gay’s own (well, not really) work.
In her disgraceful testimony before Congress, in which Gay was asked whether Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state and responded, “I believe Israel has the right to exist” – not necessarily as a Jewish state – she was doing the job for which she was hired, in the way she was hired to do it. And the Harvard Corporation, in reaping the media whirlwind and tossing standards aside (again) to save their gal, is getting exactly what they asked for.
How does Harvard’s justification for supporting President Gay, based on her background and position, affect the credibility and reputation of the institution as a whole
T Harvard, is also a member of the Harvard Corporation, the same body that expressed their support for President Claudine Gay. It seems that those in positions of power within the university are willing to overlook Gay’s plagiarism, even when it directly affects their own work.
This raises an important question: if the authors from whom you plagiarize say it’s okay, does that make it okay? According to Harvard’s response, it seems that they believe it does. They have chosen to stand by Gay, despite the evidence of her misconduct.
Plagiarism is a serious offense in academia and is considered a breach of academic integrity. It undermines the foundation of knowledge and scholarship upon which universities are built. Students are often held to strict standards when it comes to referencing and citing sources, and the consequences for plagiarism can be severe.
It is perplexing that Harvard, a university that places such a strong emphasis on academic integrity, would choose to support a president who has been implicated in multiple instances of plagiarism. This sends a contradictory message to the students and faculty of the institution.
Perhaps Harvard’s decision is influenced by a desire to protect its reputation. Gay is not only the president of the university but also the first woman and first African-American to hold the position. Her appointment was seen as a positive step towards diversity and inclusivity in academia. Admitting fault and taking action against her for plagiarism could be seen as a setback for the university’s progress in these areas.
However, this rationale is flawed. Upholding the values of honesty and integrity should be paramount, regardless of the individual’s background or position. Allowing plagiarism to go unchecked sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the credibility of the institution as a whole.
It is also worth considering the impact that this decision has on the broader academic community. By excusing Gay’s plagiarism, Harvard sends a message to other scholars and researchers that the rules of academic integrity can be selectively applied. This undermines the trust and cooperation that is essential for the advancement of knowledge.
In conclusion, if the authors from whom you plagiarize say it’s okay, it should not automatically make it okay. Plagiarism is a serious offense that undermines the principles of academic integrity and scholarly collaboration. Harvard’s decision to support President Claudine Gay, despite evidence of her plagiarism, raises concerns about the institution’s commitment to these principles. It is important for universities to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity and to hold all members of their community accountable for their actions.
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