By Ariel Zilber – Published Oct. 13, 2023, 11:40 a.m. ET – New York Post

My cmnt: Gay is Harvard’s DEI (i.e., diversity, equity, inclusion – or before that EEOC – and before that Affirmative Action) hire. She checks all the boxes except being a lesbian. A truly diverse hire for Harvard would be Victor Davis Hanson but that will never happen, nor anyone similar to him in worldview, because diversity of thought is NOT allowed in Ivy League schools.

Harvard president Claudine Gay pushed back on attempts to name students who signed a letter blaming Israel for the massacres committed by Hamas amid mounting criticism of her handling of the crisis.

Gay said the Ivy League school “embraces a commitment to free expression” in a video released Thursday night — her latest attempt to quell outrage from famous Harvard alumni including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

“That commitment extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous,” Gay said.

“We do not punish or sanction people for expressing such views, but that is a far cry from endorsing them.”

Gay, who again condemned the “barbaric atrocities perpetrated by Hamas,” did not specifically mention the more than 30 student organizations that co-signed a statement Saturday by the school’s Palestine Solidarity Committee.

“We can fan the flames of division and hatred that are roiling the world,” Gay said in the clip. “Or we can try to be a force for something different and better.”

New message from Harvard President Claudine Gay:

“Our university embraces a commitment to free expression. That commitment extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous. We do not punish or sanction people for expressing such views.” pic.twitter.com/4zFs9HNROj— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) October 13, 2023

The video is the third time that Gay has attached her name to an official statement since Hamas staged its surprise assault on Israeli towns and military bases in the early hours last Saturday — killing more than 1,200 people, wounding thousands, and taking scores as hostages.

An initial statement released Monday by Gay’s office was criticized by Summers for being “delayed” and for failing to explicitly condemn Hamas as well as the student letter.

“We write to you today heartbroken by the death and destruction unleashed by the attack by Hamas that targeted citizens in Israel this weekend, and by the war in Israel and Gaza now underway,” Harvard administrators wrote in the lukewarm statement from Monday that was released by Gay’s office.

——————————————————————————-

Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness. He is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of “The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won” from Basic Books.

———————————————————————————

Who is Claudine Gay?

American political scientist Claudine Gay has been appointed as Harvard University’s 30th president, making her the first black person to hold this position.

The news was announced on December 15, 2022, by the Ivy League school. The 52-year-old personality is currently a democracy scholar and a dean at the university. She will take over the position on July 1, 2023

A woman is leading Harvard University for only the second time in history, and she’s breaking another barrier. Claudine Gay is the first person of color to be named president. Congrats to her!

Claudine Gay is the daughter of Haitian immigrants but was born in New York in 1970. She will succeed Lawrence Bacow, who will be stepping down to devote more time to his family.

On a personal front, Gay is married to Christopher C. Afendulis. According to his bio on the Harvard Medical School website, Afendulis was a lecturer of health care policy from September 2006 to February 2015. He then became a research associate from March 2015 to April 2018 at Harvard Medical School.

---

Claudine Gay became a leading voice on American political participation

Here is Harvard’s new president. Her name is Claudine Gay (I am not making that up). It just looks like Harvard tried very hard to tick all the boxes.🙄 🤦🏻‍♀️

Since joining Harvard in 2006 as a professor of government as well as of African and African American studies, Claudine Gay has researched a wide range of topics. One of these topics is the manner in which a number of social and economic variables influence political viewpoints and voting.

She is also the founding chair of the Inequality in America program at Harvard University. The initiative aims to explore topics such as the consequences of child poverty and hardship on educational opportunities as well as American inequality from a worldly point of view.

After the news was announced, Claudine Gay gave her acceptance speech and advocated for increased collaboration between the various schools at the prestigious university.

Claudine Gay, the dean of Faculty Arts and Sciences, was yesterday named @Harvard’s 30th president, the first Black person and only the second woman to hold the job. Historic!

She also stated that there was a pressing need for the university to become more engaged with the outside world and to “bring bold, brave, and pioneering thinking to our greatest challenges.” She added:

“The idea of the ‘ivory tower’ – that is the past, not the future of academia. We don’t exist outside of society, but as part of it. That means that Harvard has a duty to lean in, engage and to be of service to the world.”

In a statement issued to the Harvard Crimson, Bacow described Claudine Gay as a “terrific academic leader with a keen mind, great leadership and communication skills.”

*Morning Message* Claudine Gay has been selected as its 30th president. When her term begins next July, Gay will be the first Black person to serve in Harvard’s top leadership role since its founding in 1636.

Chair of Harvard’s presidential search committee, Penny Pritzker, also praised Claudine. Pritzker said that the latter is a “remarkable leader” who aims to “sustain and enhance” the university’s academic standards.

Harvard has joined a group of Ivy League schools where women are being appointed as chiefs rather than men. The other two schools are the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth.

Gay is currently the only president of color heading an Ivy League, however, she is not the first. The first president of color was Ruth Simmons who headed Brown University for 11 years, from 2001 to 2012.

——————————————————————–