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President of Harvard Apologize for his comments about protesting on campus.
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His testimony, along with that of the presidents of Penn and MIT, has been widely criticized.
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“I’m sorry,” Claudine Gay told Harvard’s campus newspaper. “Words matter.”
University leaders are still in damage control amid the fallout from their testimony before Congress earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Harvard president Claudine Gay has apologized amid calls for her resignation and public criticism of her response to Rep. Elise Stefanik. ask about calls for the killing of Jews.
Gay, along with MIT president Sally Kornbluth and Penn president Elizabeth Magill, questioned whether the call to “kill the Jews” violated his school’s policy.
“Maybe, depending on the story,” Gay replied.
The responses of the three presidents that were sent immediately caused outrage. During the day, the president sent statements to clarify their statements, but the decline continued.
On Thursday, Gay apologized during an interview with The Harvard Crimson on Thursday.
“I’m sorry,” Gay told The Crimson. “Words matter.”
“When words increase the suffering and pain, I don’t know how you can feel anything but sadness,” he added.
“I found what happened at the time was an extended discussion about policies and procedures,” Gay told the campus publication. “What I should have had in mind to do at that time was to go back to my guiding principle, which is that violence against our Jewish community – threats to our Jewish students – there is no place at Harvard, and it will never be shaken. . . .
Gay has faced widespread abuse online, including billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman called on him and two other presidents to “dismiss in disgrace.” Many others have joined the calls for his resignation, and the Wall Street CEO has threatened to withdraw his $100 million donation if Magill will not resign from Penn.
The day before his apology, Gay clarified the 90-second clip that caused an onslaught of criticism.
“There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that Harvard will accept calls for violence against Jewish students. Let me be clear: Calls for violence or murder against Jews, or any religion or organization that is evil, have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be punished,” Gay said Wednesday.
In an interview with the Crimson a day later, Gay said, “The truth is, I couldn’t tell my truth.”
Read the original article above Internal Business