Claudine Gay's Resignation Letter Has Everyone Talking

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File

As we reported earlier, Harvard President Claudine Gay was finally forced to resign as even more allegations of plagiarism emerged 

BREAKING: Harvard President Claudine Gay to Resign Amid Plagiarism and Antisemitism Scandals

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She had only served about six months. Then came the congressional hearing where she and two other Ivy League presidents stepped in it big time when they refused to say unequivocally that calling for genocide against Jewish people would constitute a violation of their universities' codes of conduct. 

That turned a lot of attention to Gay and then people began asking about plagiarism — and more questions kept coming out. 

As our friends at our sister site, Townhall observed, her letter is "exactly what you would expect."

Instead of taking responsibility for her actions, she praises herself and talks about racism. 

It is a singular honor to be a member of this university, which has been my home and my inspiration for most of my professional career. My deep sense of connection to Harvard and its people has made it all the more painful to witness the tensions and divisions that have riven our community in recent months, weakening the bonds of trust and reciprocity that should be our sources of strength and support in times of crisis. 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.

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She fails to address the allegations — of the many, many alleged instances of plagiarism, despite her claim of commitment to "upholding scholarly rigor." She can't even talk straight about what she's accused of, instead choosing a weaselly way of talking about allegations of plagiarism — a serious charge. She also doesn't speak about the allegations that Harvard tried to stop the New York Post's investigation into the alleged plagiarism. 

As we welcome a new year and a new semester, I hope we can all look forward to brighter days. Sad as I am to be sending this message, my hopes for Harvard remain undimmed. When my brief presidency is remembered, I hope it will be seen as a moment of reawakening to the importance of striving to find our common humanity—and of not allowing rancor and vituperation to undermine the vital process of education. I trust we will all find ways, in this time of intense challenge and controversy, to recommit ourselves to the excellence, the openness, and the independence that are crucial to what our university stands for—and to our capacity to serve the world.

Oh, please, that's so much malarkey, and I don't think that's what her presidency will be remembered for. 

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Indeed, she's brought a lot of mockery to Harvard, and it also exposed what double standards they have for the president versus the students who might do the same thing with their work. 


WATCH: CNN's Hot Take on Claudine Gay's Harvard Resignation Was Something Else


Some even questioned this letter, with one person even putting it through a Grammarly plagiarism tracker with the result of that then going viral. That's pretty funny. 

Now, that doesn't prove it was plagiarized; it may just show, for example, if she used a commonly used phrase. I put it through some detectors, and it was pinging the phrase, "This is not a decision I came to easily." But now that there are all the accusations, people are going to be questioning everything Gay says. That's all on her, not on anyone else. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), whose question at the congressional hearing started this whole process, welcomed the resignation, calling it "long overdue." 

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Stefanik said she believed as they continued to look into this, it would be the "greatest scandal in higher education" for the failure to protect Jewish students and the "cover-up" of the plagiarism. 

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