University presidents pressured to resign after struggling to answer questions about policies

WASHINGTON DC — Leaders of some of the country’s top universities are under fire, some of which have chosen to step down, after congressional hearings on hate speech on college campuses.

More than 500 Harvard professors submitted a petition backing University President Claudine Gay, who was pressured to resign after last week’s congressional hearings on anti-Semitic behavior on college campuses.

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Gay and the presidents from MIT and the University of Pennsylvania have all come under scrutiny after struggling to answer some questions about their policies on hate speech.

Gay said that it depends on the context when asked if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated Harvard’s code of conduct.

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“It does not depend on the context, the answer is yes and this is why you should resign. These are unacceptable answers across the board,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R New York) said.

The University of Pennsylvania’s president resigned over the weekend. In a statement released this afternoon, New York Republican Stefanik criticized the Harvard faculty for supporting Gay.

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