31. Why the Reactionary Campaign Against Claudine Gay Is a Matter of Great Concern

Jan 11, 2024

Claudine Gay, Harvard's first black president, resigned after a rightwing campaign that attacked diversity and progress at institutions like Harvard.The campaign was financed by a billionaire donor and pushed by MAGA Republicans like Elise Stefanik.Media coverage of the campaign legitimized dangerous false allegations of plagiarism against Gay.Mainstream media deliberately joined the campaign, indicative of the media's role in normalizing attacks on higher education.The hypocrisy and lack of humanity in the plagiarism accusations were revealed.An analysis of the racist and sexist culture in American universities, highlighting the isolation and lack of protection for marginalized students in social science fields.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

The Reactionary Campaign Against Claudine Gay

02:57 • 29min

Reactionary Campaign Against Claudine Gay

31:48 • 15min

Discussion on Indicating Direct Quotes vs Paraphrases and Sloppiness

47:07 • 1min

Plagiarism Detection and Media Coverage

48:24 • 18min

The Hypocrisy and Lack of Humanity in an Accusation of Plagiarism

01:06:54 • 2min

Experiences of Racism and Sexism in Social Science Fields

01:08:46 • 12min

Claudine Gay, Harvard’s first Black president, resigned on January 2 – the endpoint of a brutally dishonest rightwing campaign that could not have succeeded without the mainstream media eagerly joining the crusade to get her fired. We discuss why this disastrous affair matters: It was the latest iteration of the eternal reactionary grievance against higher education, which conservatives have always seen as a place of subversive liberal indoctrination and dangerous social engineering; part of an attempt to recapture the institutions of American life that “the Left” has supposedly hijacked; and a crucial battle in a much broader struggle to extinguish whatever progress towards diversity and integration has been made. Harvard matters because this sets the precedent for other places, other universities, other institutions. The campaign was orchestrated by far-right activists like Christopher Rufo, promoted and financed by a rightwing billionaire donor class, and pushed by MAGA Republicans like Elise Stefanik. But wait, even if bad actors were behind it, did Claudine Gay not still plagiarize? We discuss that too and assess the substance of the plagiarism allegations against her. Friends, there is no there there. Then why did the mainstream media propagate, launder, and legitimize such a dangerous campaign and ardently accept the role Rufo needed it – publicly told it! – to play? They didn’t just “fall for it,” they deliberately joined this crusade – a decision indicative of the media favoring “neutrality”-theater journalism over accuracy, of an increasingly reactionary, anti-“woke” stance on the center, and of America’s elites rapidly accommodating extremism. We are in for a rough ride.

Show notes:

Alvin Tillery, “Putting the Racist Crusade against Harvard’s Dr. Claudine Gay in Context” https://medium.com/@atillery2/putting-the-racist-crusade-against-harvards-dr-claudine-gay-in-context-26535c307f96

Don Moynihan, “The campaign that removed the President of Harvard was about DEI, not plagiarism,” https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-campaign-to-remove-the-president

Moira Donegan, “Claudine Gay’s resignation had nothing to do with plagiarism” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/04/claudine-gay-harvard-resignation

Claudine Gay, “What Just Happened at Harvard Is Bigger Than Me” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/03/opinion/claudine-gay-harvard-president.html