Harvard and the growing battle over DEI in America
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2024
⏱️ 17 minutes
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Summary
Harvard’s first Black president, Claudine Gay, resigned this week amid pressure over plagiarism allegations and her comments about antisemitism on campus. For conservative activists, though, her downfall was a victory over diversity initiatives.
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The conservative victory laps began moments after Harvard University President Claudine Gay announced her resignation.
Gay has faced growing pressure since her much-criticized comments about antisemitism on campus during testimony on Capitol Hill. Then came allegations of plagiarism.
For conservative activists, however, her fall was first and foremost a victory over diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, a battleground where such activists have recently seen wins against universities, private companies and federal programs. Business reporter Julian Mark explains.
Today’s show was produced by Ariel Plotnick, with help from Sabby Robinson. It was mixed by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Maggie Penman.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So on Tuesday, Cloddingay, the first Black President of Harvard stepped down amid allegations |
| 0:07.1 | that she plagiarized portions of her research. |
| 0:11.2 | This is Julian Mark. He's a business reporter for the post. |
| 0:14.8 | This was the culmination of a broader effort to force her out following some very deeply unpopular testimony in front of Congress about |
| 0:26.5 | anti-Semitism on her campus. Does calling for the genocide of Jews |
| 0:30.4 | violate Harvard's rules on bullying and harassment? of Jews |
| 0:35.0 | calling for the genocide of Jews is anti-Semitic. |
| 0:38.0 | So yes. |
| 0:39.0 | And that is anti-Semitic speech. |
| 0:40.0 | And as I have said, when speech crosses into conduct. And it's a yes, and it's a yes, it's a yes I've asked the witnesses it when speech |
| 0:46.6 | when speech crosses into conduct we take action so is that a yes is that a yes the |
| 0:52.4 | witness has an answer. |
| 0:54.0 | Madam Chair, is that a yes? |
| 0:55.0 | But Julian says over time, it's become clear. |
| 1:00.0 | The push for gay to resign wasn't just about anti-Semitism on college campuses or just about plagiarism. |
| 1:08.0 | Conservatives viewed this as an example of a high-powered individual at a very high-level institution |
| 1:17.0 | climbing her way to the top not based on merit but on her identity which sort of is at the core of DEI. |
| 1:27.0 | DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion. |
| 1:30.0 | From the Newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 1:35.8 | I'm Elahie Zadie. |
| 1:37.8 | It's Friday, January 5th. |
| 1:40.1 | Today, conservative activists are celebrating the resignation of Harvard's president. |
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