Op Eds
Harvard’s Legacy of Antisemitism
In our view, the public discourse on antisemitism at Harvard risks becoming dangerously divorced from life on our campus.
One for Me, One for You: Garber’s Parallel Task Forces Are a Good Start
Garber's two new task forces could signal the beginning of a new age of leadership at Harvard.
Enough Outside Bullying: Penslar Is the Right Choice To Lead the Antisemitism Task Force
It’s time to say enough. The attacks on professor Derek J. Penslar — and by extension on President Garber for appointing him to this role — exemplify two profoundly worrying trends that threaten Harvard’s very mission.
Reaping What We Have Taught
Why antisemitism seems to be a problem at Harvard and other universities is one of the still-unanswered questions that precipitated the University’s downward spiral.
To Fulfill Its Social Mission, Harvard Must Resist Social Pressures
When outside actors turn up the pressure on Harvard, the proper response won’t be to ignore them, it will be to resist the temptation to respond with anything but a clear-eyed evaluation of the facts.
Bill Ackman and the Crusade Against Free Speech
For Ackman and the right, Gay’s departure represents a triumphant victory in a far greater war: the nationwide crusade against free speech, especially when it attempts to shine light on America’s history of oppression.
Go Tell It on the Mountain, Claudine Gay
Today, I do not rejoice at Claudine Gay’s resignation. Instead, I fall to my knees at our collective resignation in the Black woman’s fight to climb to a mountaintop from which we might truly be able to see a promised land.
It’s Open Season On Black Academics
Gay’s resignation signals that not even Harvard — with its unparalleled prestige and enormous endowment — could purchase the kind of spine that higher education needs in the face of vitriolic external pressure and extremist interests. Make no mistake: Her departure opens the door for increased attacks. There’s blood in the water, and the sharks are circling.
In Gay’s Fall, a McCarthyist Tragedy
There is little love lost between most pro-Palestinian students and outgoing President Claudine Gay — even if we might come to miss her.
Gay’s Resignation Is Not a Win Against Antisemitism
If Gay’s resignation follows pressure from powerful figures who saw her support of Israel and protection of Jewish students as inadequate — which I fear will be how it will be remembered, regardless of whether that’s what really happened — it is not the win against antisemitism many may feel it to be.
Claudine Gay Resigns; Harvard Reacts
Yesterday, Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard University, marking the shortest presidential tenure in the school’s centuries-long history. Gay, the University’s first Black president and second woman president, became mired in controversy after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing conflict on campus, followed by allegations of plagiarism in her academic work. How did we get here? Where do we go now? As the University arrives at a historic inflection point, the opinion section of The Crimson’s special edition on Gay’s resignation offers answers to these important questions from a diversity of perspectives across the Harvard community. —Tommy Barone ’25 and Jacob M. Miller ’25, Editorial Chairs
Harvard’s Old Presidential Model Is Dead. Here’s a New One.
Our next president must be everything President Gay should have been but failed to be.
To the Dreamer: Claudine Gay, We as Black Women Thank You.
Even in this moment of struggle, President Claudine Gay, you serve as a beacon of hope to Black women across the world.
I Led Harvard Medical School. With Gay’s Resignation, the Corporation Must Rethink Its Approach to Governance.
With Gay's resignation, the Harvard Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, must weigh whether it has come time to change its approach to its essential fiduciary responsibilities.
To Move Forward, Harvard Must Refocus on Its Mission
Can we find a way to move forward and balance freedom of speech with safety and inclusion? I believe that the answer is yes.
I Vote on Plagiarism Cases at Harvard College. Gay’s Getting off Easy.
I have served as a voting member of the Harvard College Honor Council. I call on University President Claudine Gay to resign for her numerous and serious violations of academic ethics.
For the Safety of Jews and Palestinians, Stop Weaponizing Antisemitism
Antisemitism in the U.S. is a real and dangerous phenomenon. To contend against these and other antisemitic forces with clarity and purpose, we must put aside all fabricated and weaponized charges of “antisemitism” that serve to silence criticism of Israeli policy and its sponsors in the U.S.
Antisemitism at Harvard, According to Seven Jewish Affiliates
Since University President Claudine Gay’s controversial testimony before Congress about antisemitism at Harvard, the University has become a major subject of an international conversation about the Oct. 7 attacks, the war in Gaza, antisemitism, and the proper place of free speech on our nation’s campuses. As this discourse has gone global, outside observers and powerful people have weighed in on a discussion about our campus, at times more loudly than the Jewish affiliates of Harvard themselves. With this special package of op-eds from seven Jewish Harvard affiliates — diverse in age, background, and ideology — we hope to provide personal perspective on an important conversation about campus antisemitism that has traveled far beyond Cambridge. — Tommy Barone ’25 and Jacob M. Miller ’25, Crimson Editorial Chairs
Before Invoking Antisemitism, We Need To Define It
By defining what antisemitism means on our campus and acting accordingly, we can define in turn what kind of community we want Harvard to be.
On the Hatred of Jews
Harvard has a long and ignoble history of antisemitism. It is time to admit it, confront it and overcome it. If we cannot learn to argue civilly at Harvard, how can we have hope for the civility of other places in the world?
The Disturbing Denial of Jewish Grief
It has been truly disheartening to see that amidst the heightened tensions on our own campus, some of our peers have neglected to extend to Jewish and Israeli students the compassion, understanding, and humanity that we all deserve.
Not All Jews Are Zionists. Harvard Can’t Keep Ignoring This Truth.
As Jewish Harvard students, we have been thrust into the national spotlight. We question what exactly it illuminates and the intentions of those who shine it.
The Hard Work of Universities Is Hard to See
Every day, outside the glare of social media, I see new reasons to have faith in our campus communities — at Penn, Harvard, and beyond.
President Gay Was Right: Context Matters
I have taught at Harvard Law School since 1961 and began practicing before the Supreme Court in 1985 and I would have felt professionally obligated to answer as the presidents did. It does depend on the context.
Disparities in Debate, at Harvard and Beyond
While my experience with high school debate provided me with invaluable knowledge of public speaking and leadership, not everyone has the opportunity to participate in speech and debate equitably.