January 2024
Embedded Files
January
“Campaigns of this kind often start with attacks on education and expertise, because these are the tools that best equip communities to see through propaganda.” Claudine Gay
As most of us follow the news surrounding the forced resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, we need to pay close attention to Black voices in the discussion.
Below, leading Black academics and journalists share their thoughts and opinions.
Attorney and CNN chief legal analyst, Laura Coates, speaks with noted Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy about his strong support for President Gay. (December 12, 2023).
New York Times columnist Charles Blow shares his perspective. (January 3, 2024)
Alvin B. Tillery, Jr. (right) is a Professor of Political Science and Director of The Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern University. In the PhD program that they both completed at Harvard, Tillery claims that Claudine Gay was "the best student in the cohort ahead me," and notes that they both work in the same field of study. He recently provided details concerning President Gay's impressive academic qualifications as well as comments on the context surrounding her resignation. (January 5, 2024)
Click HERE to read Dr. Tillery's exceptionally informative article.
Janice Gassam Asare, Senior Contributor at Forbes, reminds us of the attacks on Nicole Hannah-Jones and Ketanji Brown Jackson. (January 2, 2024)
Eddie Glaude, Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, and Jelani Cobb, Dean of Columbia University's School of Journalism and staff writer at The New Yorker, join Ali Velshi to discuss Gay's forced resignation and its implications for academia.
(January 7 , 2024)
Two Key Figures Behind the Assault on Claudine Gay
Can we stop treating amassing incredible wealth, undoubtedly at the expense of others, as a qualification for intervening in education? Lex Mcmenamin, Teen Vogue
William Ackman
Billionaire hedge fund manager who is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pershing Square Capital Management.
The Guardian piece on the left (January 3, 2024) calls attention to Ackman's recent manifesto that reveals his motivation, his goals, and his arrogance. You can read it HERE in its entirety. We have highlighted some of the distortions and inflammatory passages.
Ackman designates himself as the arbiter of higher education, diversity, and free speech. If one wades through the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of his X post, it is possible to appreciate the motives underlying his frontal attack on Claudine Gay and thus on academia.
He connects Harvard student protests supporting Hamas and attacks on Israel, with his disdain for DEI, segueing to "reverse racism" and claiming that Claudine Gay's appointment was race based, lowered the university's standards of excellence, and damaged its reputation.
Ackman goes on to demand the replacement of all the members of the Harvard Corporation and the complete rewriting the University's constitution.
His goal and the goal of his supporters and the entire movement is to intimidate higher education and thereby control what students are taught and who can teach.
Harvard is the current focus. It is American higher education that is the target.
Take a look at Stefanik's gloating description of her takedown of Claudine Gay and her plans to "continue shining light on the university system’s rot — not just at Harvard, MIT and Penn, but colleges and universities across the nation." She mentions specifically NYU, Columbia, and Cornell for starters.
Click the photo below to read her New York Post article
Elise Stefanik
U.S. representative for New York's 21st congressional district. As chair of the House Republican Conference since 2021, she is the fourth-ranking House Republican.
The New York Times (January 2, 2024)
Why This Episode Is So Important and How It is Linked to a Much Larger Enterprise
"My primary objective is to eliminate the DEI bureaucracy in every institution in America and to restore truth rather than racialist ideology as the guiding principle of America." Christopher Rufo, Politico (January 3, 2024)
"We're in the world-conquest business" ... "and we have just one weapon -- teaching." Larry Arnn President, Hillsdale College
Christopher Rufo
Described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a 'far-right propagandist'; New College of Florida board member; and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Ian Ward, POLITICO (January 3, 2024) interviews Rufo, who openly articulates both his goals and his strategy.
Ron DiSantis has recruited Rufo in his transformation of "New College of Florida, a small public liberal arts college known for its left-leaning student body, into a much more conservative 'Hillsdale of the South'." The college's governance has been replaced, DEI and Gender Studies removed, the curriculum significantly changed, and they are making serious progress on "rebalancing the ratio of male and female students." Rufo has stated that women students “caused all sorts of cultural problems” and made the college a “social justice ghetto.” (HERE)
See this revealing article about 35 students who transferred to Hampshire College HERE and more about the transformation HERE.
Below, read about Hillsdale College, the model going forward.
Hillsdale College
A private, conservative, Christian, liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Hillsdale's required core curriculum includes courses on the Great Books, the U.S. Constitution, biology, chemistry, and physics.
Since the late 20th century, in order to opt out of the US government's Title IX nondiscrimination requirements, Hillsdale has declined government financial support and, instead, depends entirely on private donations to supplement students' tuition.
Neither plagiarism nor an awkwardly answered question forced Claudine Gay’s resignation. It was the confluence of racism, mysogyny, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism and anti-intellectualism, shielded by the First Amendment. It will not end with Gay’s removal. It has flowed into politics at all levels. It is steered by plutocrats and ideologues whose goal is to throttle learning; erase and rewrite history; and set America in a direction that reflects their convictions.
We can only speculate on its consequences. However, it has revealed its plans and we are seeing what it leaves in its path.
Two more relevant, and excellent, articles that appeared after we put this page together....
The New York Times by Nicholas Confessorre (January 20, 2024)
The New Yorker by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (January 22, 2024)
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse