Just In: Harvard University President Claudine Gay Accused of Plagiarism
- Ms Claudine Gay, the first black president of the prestigious Harvard University in the United States, has been caught in the web of a plagiarism scandal
- A blogger who published a comparative text of her work and the original paper accused her of plagiarism in her doctoral thesis
- Several petitions are seeking her resignation and the termination of her appointment as leader of the A-list academic institution
Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro
Harvard University's embattled president, Claudine Gay, faces accusations of plagiarism in her doctoral dissertation, intensifying calls for her resignation amid allegations of anti-semitism on campus.
Gay, the university's first black president, has been accused of incorporating sentences from other academics into her 1997 PhD thesis on the success of black politicians.
Source: Getty Images
As reported by Yahoo News, a conservative blogger highlighted sections of her dissertation that closely resembled phrases used by cited academics, potentially violating Harvard's anti-plagiarism policy.
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Allegations of plagiarism against Gay
Christopher Rufo, the blogger, alleged that Gay reused language without proper quotation marks despite acknowledging the original sources.
According to Havard's policy:
"It’s not enough to change a few words here and there and leave the rest; instead, you must completely restate the ideas in the passage in your own words.”
In one of the sentences of her thesis, Ms Gay remarked that:
“Using 1987 survey data, Bobo and Gilliam found that African-Americans in ‘high black-empowerment’ areas… are more active than either African-Americans in low-empowerment areas or their white counterparts of comparable socioeconomic status.”
It was gathered that the authentic paper contained the same sentence, using “blacks” instead of “African-Americans”.
Already facing pressure to step down just six months into her presidency, Gay previously sparked controversy during a congressional hearing where she equivocated on whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate Harvard's bullying and harassment policies.
Following criticism, Gay apologised, emphasising the importance of words and explaining that she had become entangled in questions about university procedures.
Gay said:
“When words amplify distress and pain, I don’t know how you could feel anything but regret.”
Similar incident at University of Pennsylvania
Liz Magill, president of the University of Pennsylvania, made similar comments during the hearing and resigned amid donor threats.
During the hearing, Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, questioned university presidents on the response to students advocating for the genocide of Jews, revealing varying stances on whether such calls would breach institutional rules.
The academics in attendance stated that making such a request wouldn't necessarily violate their regulations outright.
They emphasised that potential breaches would hinge on the specific circumstances and the possible consequences for students.
Petitions against Ms Gay
The controversy has split opinions within Harvard, with 14 faculty members petitioning for Gay's removal while 500 others released a statement defending her, condemning external political pressures and asserting Harvard's commitment to academic freedom.
As the Harvard Corporation, one of the university's governing bodies, is set to convene on Monday, the situation remains fluid, with continued scrutiny on the plagiarism allegations against President Gay.
Benedicta Daudu: Professor involved in exam malpractice scandal makes SAN shortlist
In another report, a fresh controversy greeted the 2023 shortlist for the next set of senior advocates of the Nigerian judiciary.
A recent report confirmed that one of the 68 lawyers shortlisted for this honour had been caught cheating during an exam.
The lawyer in question, Professor Benedicta Daudu, was said to have been forced to resign from the institution she was caught cheating.
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Source: Legit.ng
