Penn president resigns, Stefanik vows Harvard and MIT next

Source: Politico | December 9, 2023 | Bianca Quilantan

Rep. Elise Stefanik grilled Penn President Liz Magill, along with the presidents of Harvard and MIT, during a hearing Tuesday over their response to antisemitism on their campuses.

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill on Saturday voluntarily stepped down from her role after facing intense blowback following a House Education committee hearing this week.

Magill has agreed to stay in her role until an interim president is selected, according to a statement from Penn Trustee Board Chair Scott Bok. He also resigned Saturday.

“It has been my privilege to serve as President of this remarkable institution,” Magill said in the statement. “It has been an honor to work with our faculty, students, staff, alumni and community members to advance Penn’s vital mission.”

Magill, along with Harvard President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth, participated in a contentious, more than five-hour grilling from lawmakers Tuesday over their response to antisemitism on their campuses.

They faced backlash for evading a question from Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) who asked about pro-Palestinian student protestors’ calls for “intifada” or “the genocide of Jews.”

“Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Penn’s rules or code of conduct, yes or no?” Stefanik asked Magill on Tuesday, to which Magill responded: “If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment.”

Stefanik slammed the response, saying: “Conduct meaning committing the act of genocide? The speech is not harassment? This is unacceptable.”

The other presidents responded similarly to the question. They said they personally did not agree with the rhetoric used by those students and were committed to preserving free speech on campus.

……..

Tagged: , , , , ,

Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.