• givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    People keep acting like she was harassed into resigning by random trolls…

    Gay, a political scientist who focuses on Black politics and was the first Black president of Harvard, did not address the allegations in her resignation letter, submitted “after consultation” with members of Harvard’s primary governing board, known as the Harvard Corporation. “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,” she wrote, “and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.”

    It wasn’t pressure from random internet trolls that made her resign, it was Harvard’s board.

    The internet trolls are/were assholes.

    But the people we should be mad at is the board. And chances are their real problem was her being a Black woman and/or her statements on Israel. Rather than the plagiarism claims made the trolls.

    She says so clear as day in her statement, and everyone is just ignoring it.

    • jeffw@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I’m getting something totally different out of your quote. It literally says she was frightened at the end? Many people would consult their boss when resigning from a prestigious position. The board had publicly defended her.

    • CthuluVoIP@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I interpreted her point about scholarly rigor to be referring to allegations of plagiarism. She’s vehemently denying those allegations, but she does address them. Otherwise, I agree that it’s likely other prejudices had a part to play in her dismissal.