University Presidents Defend ‘Open Discourse’ When Confronted on Antisemitism Surge at Hearing
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The presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology emphasized the importance of free speech on campus when pressed during a Tuesday congressional hearing on how antisemitism was allowed to run rampant at their respective institutions, which have in recent years failed to defend the First Amendment on countless occasions in the name of protecting marginalized communities.
Addressing lawmakers in front of the House Committee on Education & the Workforce Tuesday morning, Harvard president Claudine Gay condemned Hamas’s brutal attack and the resulting antisemitism on American campuses. Asked how antisemitism had become rife on her campus in particular, Gay emphasized that all points of view are tolerated at Harvard, which was ranked dead last in the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s (FIRE) 2024 college free-speech rankings.
“When we recruit faculty, we do so with the understanding that they are joining a community where we honor, celebrate, and nurture open discourse both on the campus and in the classroom,” Gay told committee chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.).
