Ivy League college presidents were grilled last week by Congress about their stance on calls for violence against minorities on their campuses. Several of them were called out by members of Congress and public backlash has seethed against these elite schools and their leadership.
The University of Pennsylvania president has resigned and there are calls for more to pack it up and leave. The backlash hasn’t been limited to the typical social media storm, either, as private citizens have scaled up the backlash against the elite schools.
Now, one open display of displeasure is roaming the roads around Harvard with billboard trucks. The message is clear that people want the school president sacked and the words they use are poignant.
From Fox News:
The private funder running the billboard box truck campaign will also deploy a plane over campus this week with a banner reading, “HARVARD — STOP JEW HATRED.”
Harvard’s President Claudine Gay gave controversial remarks to Congress regarding whether calls for the genocide of Jews breaks the school’s code of conduct. That prompted calls for her to be removed.
“FIRE GAY,” the privately-funded trucks read, accompanied by photos of Gay while she appeared before Congress last Tuesday.
One of the billboard trucks keeps driving around the school while another sits outside Harvard’s main gate. The trucks have large, printed messages on their sides and are blaring Gay’s controversial verbal exchange with Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik during a congressional hearing.
Similar protests were staged at the University of Pennsylvania’s campus. Calls there to fire Elizabeth Magill, the Ivy League school’s president, were followed by Magill announcing her resignation in a matter of days.
Questioning of Gay, Magill, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth was heated last week with Stefanik directed stern questions at the elite school presidents. Her questions for Gay were fiery.
“At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment?” Stefanik asked Gay specifically.
Gay would not give a straight “yes” or “no” answer, and said the issue “depends on the context,” which infuriated members of Congress.
“It does not depend on the context. The answer is yes and this is why you should resign,” Stefanik responded. “These are unacceptable answers across the board.”
Pressure has mounted since the hearing for Gay to step down, according to Fox News, with more than 70 members of Congress signing a letter to Harvard’s governing board members calling for the president to resign.
Key Takeaways:
- Ivy league college presidents draw the ire of Congress after testimonies.
- Lack of outright condemnation of violence against Jews angers lawmakers.
- One college president resigns and another faces onslaught of billboard trucks.
Source: Fox News