“The Ivy League mask is slipping,” said a Wall Street Journal editorial on Sunday. “The Ivy League is Failing,” was the headline of a New York Times column. Since grilling at the Republican-led Congressional Education Committee, the presidents of America's elite universities have been accused of failing to take a decisive enough stance against anti-Semitism.
During the survey, all three presidents – Claudine Gay (Harvard), Liz Magill (University of Pennsylvania) and Sally Kornbluth (MIT) – admitted to anti-Semitic incidents. When Representative Elise Stefanik asked presidents whether the “call for genocide against Jews” at their universities violated policies on intimidation and harassment, they came in for widely criticized statements.
APA/AFP/Kevin Dietsch Claudine Gay (Harvard), Lucy Magill (University of Pennsylvania), and Sally Kornbluth (MIT)
Call for genocide: fuss over those who say “context”
“That may be the case, depending on the context,” responded Harvard President Claudine Gay. Asked to answer “yes” or “no,” Gay again said it depends on the context. The other presidents have made similar statements. The argument: Universities are committed to free speech.
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an association of eight universities: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Yale. They are among the most prestigious in the world and are among the top 20 universities in the USA. MIT is not one of them, but it is equally respected.
This also applies to offensive, insulting and hateful opinions. “When speech turns into behavior, it can be harassment,” Magill said. She also added: “It’s a contextual decision.”
The right to expression has a special status
Later, Magill – who has been under pressure since September – released a video in which he said he had focused the audience too much on the principle that freedom of expression in itself is not a crime, as stated in the Constitution. But it should have focused more on the irrefutable fact that the call for genocide against the Jewish people was a call for one of the most horrific acts of violence a human being could commit.
In the USA, the right to freedom of expression is regulated in the First Amendment of the Constitution and has a special status. Compared to Austria, this law is interpreted more broadly. For example, it is allowed to display a flag with a swastika. The way we deal with hate speech is also different.
Gay apologized for his statements in an interview with the university newspaper The Harvard Crimson on Friday. “At that moment, I should have had the presence of mind necessary to return to my truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community – threats against our Jewish students – have no place at Harvard and will never go unchallenged,” she said. she said.
USA: Hearing on anti-Semitism at universities
Representative Elise Stefanik asked the presidents whether the “call for genocide against Jews” at their universities violated guidelines. “That may be the case, depending on the context,” responded Harvard President Claudine Gay. The other presidents have made similar statements. The argument is that universities are committed to freedom of expression, including offensive, insulting and hateful opinions.
University director resigns after harsh criticism
The first consequences came over the weekend: Magill resigned from his position. The measure was preceded by strong criticism from politicians and major donors: a major donor to the University of Pennsylvania withdrew a donation of around 100 million US dollars (around 93 million euros) and demanded his resignation. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro called Magill's comments unacceptable and shameful.
Criticism also came from the White House. On Friday, more than 70 members of Congress also called on the governing bodies of Harvard, Penn and MIT to fire the presidents. Since then, MIT President Kornbluth has received support from her university's board of trustees.
The situation for Harvard President Gay, who has recently found herself repeatedly faced with criticism from major donor and Harvard graduate Bill Ackman, is less clear. A petition in support of Gay is said to have been signed by hundreds of the approximately 2,300 faculty members, the New York Times reported. According to the North American newspaper, teachers also spoke out against political pressure.
Opinion: “Undermining Basic American Principles”
Commentators, however, are giving elite universities a devastating report: “The reality is that many universities today espouse views that undermine classical liberal values and basic American principles,” says an op-ed in Wall Street Journal. “Tolerance of anti-Semitism is an ugly example, but the problem is deeper and requires urgent attention,” the paper said.
Penn professor Claire Finkelstein wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post calling for restricting free speech to protect students and urging university presidents to reconsider “the role that open expression and academic freedom play in the educational mission.” .
Criticism of the influence of politicians and large donors
The ongoing debate in the US is not just about how to deal with anti-Semitism and free speech, but also about the influence of politicians and wealthy individuals. “What you are seeing now is a handful of super-ultra-rich individuals – plutocrats you might call philanthropists – having incredible influence on higher education,” Isaac Kamola, a professor at Trinity College in Connecticut, was quoted as saying in the Financial Times.
Anger at the academic elite as a factor?
Observers also see calculations on the part of Republicans: Elise Stefanik, questioner and supporter of former President Donald Trump, used the rhetoric of a “grand exchange” during the 2021 election campaign, wrote “Spiegel”. “The right’s hatred for the academic elite is enormous,” she says.
“The reason why university presidents did not simply answer 'yes' is probably due to the distinction between freedom of expression and code of conduct at universities. “This means that anything can be said, as long as it does not threaten individuals”, says “Spiegel”.
“It's hard to side with Stefanik, given that she embodies the grotesque transformation of the Republican Party into an insane cult of Trump, but she was right to take shots at prevaricating presidents,” commented NYT columnist Maureen Dowd.
Ministry of Education launched an investigation
Dispute over the Middle East conflict has also erupted at US universities and schools in recent weeks. US media reported incidents of physical violence or threats of physical violence. Anti-Semitic and racist graffiti appeared on school grounds. Videos circulating online showed young people tearing up posters with photos of Hamas hostages.
The US Department of Education has launched investigations into anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents at US educational institutions – including Harvard and the elite universities Columbia and Cornell.