Opinion: Claudine Gay resigned. Let it go. Bye Claudine. Al Sharpton vows weekly DEI protests

Former Harvard President Claudine Gay Resigns. Al Sharpton Protest (Collage)Photo byBoth images from X formerly Twitter

The resignation of Claudine Gay as president of Harvard University has stirred conversations and opinions across various communities.

Claudine Gay was the first Black woman to lead the prestigious institution, and her appointment was seen by many as a milestone for diversity and inclusion in higher education.

Gay's resignation came amid a confluence of factors. Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Harvard faced criticism for its perceived tolerance of antisemitic incidents on campus. Somestudents and faculty members accused the university administration, including Gay, of not taking these incidents seriously enough.

Gay’s testimony before a congressional committee on antisemitism on college campuses was viewed by some as inadequate and insensitive.

The controversies ultimately led to Gay's resignation making her the shortest-serving president in Harvard's history, according to The Harvard Crimson paper.

In her resignation, Gay wrote:

Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor — two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am — and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus. -Claudine Gay

In the wake of Gay's resignation, civil rights leader Al Sharpton led a protest outside the office of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a vocal critic of Gay and her policies.

In her short tenure as President, Claudine Gay has done more damage to the reputation of Harvard University than any individual in our nearly 500-year history, Ackman wrote in a post on X.

Sharpton accused Ackman of playing a role in Gay's ouster and argued that her resignation was a setback for diversity and inclusion efforts at Harvard and beyond. Sharpton posted on X, "The National Action Network will lead a picket line every Thursday outside Bill Ackman’s office to protest his campaign against Gay and DEI measures".

While some see Claudine Gay as a victim of unfair attacks, others believe that her actions and the controversies surrounding them warranted her departure. The situation has sparked conversations about race, gender, academic integrity, and free speech on college campuses.

Although Gay has not publicly admitted to intentional acts of plagiarism, over two dozen allegations have been made. According to the Washington Free Beacon half of Gay’s published works are now implicated.

Gay is still on faculty and reportedly likely to keep her 900k/year salary.