Opinion and Commentary By Donna Westfall – January 3, 2024
One of the top five prestigious colleges:
HARVARD – Four years of tuition and expenses run about $330,000. It’s located on over five thousand acres in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To get in your GPA should be between 3.9 and 4.1. If you’re Jewish, many of your fellow classmates (or students in the case of Jewish instructors) may stand with those that are anti-Semitic and may think it’s ok to intimidate and harass you.
Yesterday, the President of Harvard, Claudine Gay resigned. BREAKING NEWS: She will likely be able to keep her $900,000 salary. Since Harvard received so much in Federal Funding, that means our tax dollars are going to continue to go into her pocket. Doesn’t make any sense to me.
A lot of push back against her was due to her performance before the Congressional Committee. She tried to explain, very badly, that the hateful comments students were making did not necessarily break the code of ethics. As a result, millions of dollars in donations were being pulled. Finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back was her plagiarism. Had a student committed and was caught plagiarizing, they would have been kicked out of school. Both Harvard and Obama tried very hard to keep Gay in her position. But the heat was on.
Harvard was started in the 1600’s. They built up a solid reputation. From their website: “world-class faculty, groundbreaking research opportunities, and a commitment to a diverse environment of bright, talented students,...students have access to courses, research institutes, and faculty mentors from all parts of Harvard. With world-renowned faculty, state-of-the-art resources, and individualized instruction…more than just a place to get an education—it’s where students come to be transformed.”
It’s pretty pathetic to see what has happened in a few short months to this Ivy League institution that was revered worldwide. Even Ben Matlock, defense attorney, graduated from Harvard (series staring Andy Griffith 1986-1995).
Harvard receives $625 million in Federal funding. As such the Department of Education under Title VI has a law that bans discrimination based on race, religion or national origin in an institution that receives federal money.
Another $300 million comes from donations from corporations, foundations and other non-federal funding. In 2021 they received a $2.8 million from the National Science Foundation to help minority youth pursue STEM careers (STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Bill Ackman, 57 years old, a billionaire, of Jewish descent and a Harvard alumnus, pulled mega bucks when early in December he said Gay needed to be fired. What’s interesting is that nearly 700 faculty members signed a petition in support of Gay. NOTE: There are 16,000 including staff and faculty at Harvard.
Married to his first wife, Karen Ann Herskovitz from 1994 to 2017. They have three children. His second wife, Neri Oxman, was born and raised in Israel where she served nearly three years in the Israeli Air Force. She tried Medical School but changed direction into architecture, design and became a professor at MIT. They married in 2019 and have one daughter.
What will it take for Harvard to recapture their reputation?
First and foremost, a new President. Then dismantle DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). Bill Ackman’s article in The Free Press goes into great detail about the problems with DEI.
Now that Claudine Gay’s resignation joins University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill’s resignation, at least one is left and that is President Sally Kornbluth at MIT.
You can read in The Free Press today’s date:
“Bill Ackman: How to Fix Harvard
It’s time we restore veritas to my alma mater.”
