The Ethical Quandary of Claudine Gay
Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you..
Matthew 7:1-2
Unveiling the Controversy: The Ethical Quandary of Claudine Gay at Harvard.
It's highly disconcerting to witness complaints propagated by certain liberal media outlets around the Claudine Gay controversy. Allegations suggest that the first Black President of Harvard University was forced to resign from her role due to racism and her purported failure to denounce antisemitism at the university, rather than a thorough evaluation of her academic achievements and her inability to manage her role.
The progressive-leaning media would like people to believe that Gay’s alleged wrongdoings are irrelevant due to the way the evidence came to light. They want us to ignore any ethics in this situation. It is not relevant that she had to cheat to earn a seat at the table, while other black academic scholars have earned their seat based on merit alone. Now that it has been discovered that Gay indeed plagiarized scholars, including commandeering the work of Dr. Carol Swain, a black woman, without giving due credit or attribution, why didn’t Claudine Gay resign?
One might question whether Gay believed her use of another Black sister's writings would escape detection. She may have assumed we wouldn't discover her role in removing two African American scholars from their positions based on ethics, all while not holding herself accountable to those same standards. It's noteworthy to emphasize that Claudine is Haitian American and an immigrant, not Black American. There is a difference. Yet, Black Americans give their allegiance to Gay in the name of the Black cause, blaming systemic racism. Are we confused? Have we lost our way? Do we not see and understand? There is no systemic racism here.
It's a great feat to become the first President of Harvard centuries after W.E.B. Dubois graduated from the fine institution. Claudine Gay proudly took that seat, but let’s be clear—Gay didn’t become the first Black American at Harvard—she became the first Haitian American to be President of Harvard. Claudine Gay has proven herself to be part of the elite individuals that have taken an undeserved seat at the table. She should be cast in the same pool with those individuals who scammed their college admission scores for entrance into elite universities. She is among the elite in America who has benefited from DEI initiatives in the name of blackness.
Having not known Claudine Gay’s background, I will say it was inspiring to see her arrive on Capitol Hill to explain why Harvard failed to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on their campus. Surely there had to be a reasonable explanation. Why wouldn’t a university protect its students was the question she needed to address. She was a disappointment and demonstrated her inability to perform the role as President of Harvard.
I was very surprised how cold and almost disinterested Gay seemed. Her responses were smug and rehearsed. When questioned about antisemitic rhetoric, she dismissed concerns by stating, 'it depends on the context.' As if there was no real context. As if there were no protests where students chanted, 'from the river to the sea' as Jewish students observed. Despite the clear need for appropriate measures in this context, Gay failed to protect students at the university—in the name of free speech. This was not about free speech at this point — what happened on many liberal campuses across America was a violation of a race of people's right to exist. That is antisemitic and should have been stopped immediately. It would have been that simple for Gay to state, but she refused.
Her staunch refusal to admit the mistakes she made at Harvard speaks of her inability to decipher right and wrong. That is what opened a can of worms for this sister. What happened to Gay is not about race; it is about justice. The chickens have now come home to roost; unfortunately, she has been found standing with the egg in her hand. Her unethical behavior got her over the finish line—but the buck stops here. Gay already has a limited body of work—and part of that work was plagiarized. She used the work of a Republican Black woman without giving credit — as if Dr. Caroline Swain didn’t exist or as if Gay believed nobody would care.
Not giving appropriate credit to another sister is one thing. But Dr. Gay has a few other complaints against her. She sidelined two black professors due to ethical concerns in 2019. Ronald Sullivan Jr., the former dean of Harvard’s Winthrop House, was demoted by Gay for representing Harvey Weinstein. How dare a black man in America defend someone that was so repulsive—as if Sullivan as a lawyer did not have a right to pick and choose who he would defend. Then there was Roland Fryer, a researcher. A scholar that was making a difference for the black community. After a witch hunt, orchestrated by Gay, for a bunch of text messages that ended up being nothing but fodder, Gay suspended Fryer for 2 years without pay and closed his lab. Sullivan and Fryer were both victims of the MeToo movement, and Claudine Gay was the knife that stabbed them in the back, under the guise of ethics. Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way, you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Is there any justification for destroying the careers of two African American men for what is perceived as unethical behavior while disregarding your own unethical actions? Claudine Gay should have promptly resigned. Instead, she relied on the support of the Black community, the Harvard board, and Barack Obama to shield her. She was fully aware of all the unethical things she had done in the past prior to walking those steps on Capitol Hill. That speaks to her immoral character.
But, even after the plagiarism allegations were proven true, she still refused to take the ethical step of stepping down for the reputation of Harvard. Gay made no apology for stealing from Dr. Swain and other scholars—as it has been proven she committed plagiarism more than 50 times. Also, she made no apology to the professors whose lives and scholarly reputations she disparaged. The question arises: How can an individual with an unethical record make accusations of unethical behavior against others? Should the cases of Sullivan and Fryer be reinvestigated since the person who convicted them was a criminal?
I watched a YouTube video where individuals claimed Claudine Gay was forced to step down because of racism and Zionism. Every time a person of ‘color’ gets caught with their hands in the cookie jar—they play the blame game. It is easy to blame racism and Jewish people. That is exactly what Claudine Gay did; in her resignation, she stated, “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 subject to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.”
The circumstances that led to her exposure are unfortunate; her appearance on Capitol Hill sparked outrage and exposed questions about plagiarism and ethical decisions that had unfortunate consequences for other blacks at Harvard. Claudine Gay has proven herself to be a failure. She failed to present academic material that warranted her the role of President; she failed to protect the Jewish students at the University, and she failed to live up to her own expectations and the expectations of ‘colored’ women when it came down to making ethical choices.
What is worse about this entire situation is Gay gets to keep her plushy job even without the title. Despite this setback, she still retains her livelihood, earning over $900,000 annually. She is a cheater and clearly untruthful and unethical, and yet she gets to flick the dirt from her shoulders and take her place among the faculty at Harvard.
I suppose this is a case for mercy. While we all make mistakes, not everyone faces accountability. Gay will have an opportunity to rectify this tarnish in the future. She will take her place among the faculty at Harvard and count this as a loss—an unfortunate experience. Fortunately, for individuals like Gay—there's always tomorrow even after the unveiling.