Progressive radicalism is bringing about self-destruction at Harvard and beyond

As most Americans are now aware, Harvard President Claudine Gay finally stepped down due to the multiple issues she brought on herself. She will continue as a professor with her roughly $900,000 per year salary, and continue on the faculty. Despite the soft landing, Gay has already begun lashing out at an alleged vast conservative conspiracy.

Shot across the bow telling plebeian conservatives to shut up

In an Op-Ed published in the New York times entitled, “What Happened to Me is Bigger Than Harvard,” Gay warns of conservative forces seeking to bring down the elite status of Ivy League universities and other such elite institutions. The clear underlying message is that Gay was targeted for her race and sex and commitment to progressive ideals like DEI and that we should not let that happen again. This editorial was a shot across the bow telling plebeian conservatives to shut up.

Beyond Gay’s editorial, others are showing the progressive bent of Harvard by attacking those who exposed Gay’s plagiarism evidence. That is particularly the case with the attacks again journalist and Harvard graduate Christopher Rufo, who covered the Gay plagiarism scandal before Gay’s disastrous hearings at the Capitol. Harvard faculty lashing out against Rufo has come full circle in lashing out against what some professors consider Harvard’s “un-elite” program.

Professor Jennifer Hochschild, longtime Harvard professor of “Government and African American Studies”, was a victim in the Gay Plagiarism affair, as Gay used her material without proper attribution. Despite Rufo exposing how Hochschild’s writings were improperly lifted by Gay, Hochschild decided to go after Rufo in the worst way. Like so many of the progressive attacks against conservatives, Hochschild’s attacks were not about Rufo’s reporting, but against Rufo. In what amounts to “Rufo derangement syndrome,” she lashed out against Rufo but actually attacked Harvard itself, including a department in which she taught. On X Hochschild wrote: “On Rufo: what do integrity police say about his claim to have ‘master’s degree from Harvard,’ which is actually from the open-enrollment Extension School? Those students are great – I teach them – but they are not the same as what we normally think of as Harvard graduate students.”

Hochschild attempted to quell the near civil war she ignited

This denigrating remark about the Harvard Extension School (HES), founded in the 19^th century, drove expected backlash from the school and HES students and alumni: “We, the Harvard Extension Student Association (HESA) Board, are deeply concerned and disappointed by the recent comments made by a Harvard Extension School professor on the social media platform, X, the remarks in question implied that a degree from our institution is a mark of lesser qualification.”

The HESA statement recognized Hochschild’s attempts to weasel out with a lame “explanation” of her tweet yet asserted “Although the professor attempted to backtrack on her statements, the initial message conveyed a different sentiment, one that undermines the value and reputation of our institution. We firmly oppose any notion that undermines the hard work, dedication, and professional acumen of our peers and alumni.”

Hochschild attempted to quell the near civil war she ignited by telling the Harvard Crimson: “I am sorry that my comments were understood to imply a ‘sentiment . . . that undermines the value and reputation of our institution,’ and that they caused HES students and staff distress. That is far from my views; Harvard is rightly proud of the quality of and access to education manifested every day by HES.”

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Americans have seen the depth of radical progressivism plaguing Harvard and other such institutions, particularly since October 7

Ironically in coming from such a progressive, most students attending HES are from either economically challenged backgrounds or those who must work from home to support themselves or families. This the ultimate elitist attack on the alleged “underclass” Harvard students/grads. The attack on Rufo’s Harvard degree was not at all comparable with the evidence of the dishonesty of the plagiarism scandal.

Beyond Hochschild, the progressive media likewise engaged in self-implosion with crazed attacks on Rufo for exposing the truth.

According to Fox, “The Associated Press updated a headline on Wednesday that deemed plagiarism a ‘new conservative weapon,’ following widespread backlash to the post on X, admitting the story did not meet the outlet's standards. ‘The story doesn’t meet our standards,’ Lauren Easton, the VP of AP Corporate Communications, told Fox News Digital. She said they were in the process of updating the headline. The AP's original headline read: ‘Harvard president’s resignation highlights new conservative weapon against colleges: plagiarism,’ which was widely mocked on social media, after Harvard President Claudine Gay announced she would be resigning from the position on Tuesday.”

Of note, in an earlier story about Gay’s resignation the AP went after Rufo personally, and unbelievably suggesting Rufo advocated violence against native Americans in his benign use of the term scalp. That story was similarly lampooned on the internet for unfairness against Rufo and bias in favor of Gay.

Americans have seen the depth of radical progressivism plaguing Harvard and other such institutions, particularly since October 7. It is past time to clean out the rot so Americans can again look to universities as places dedicated to seeking truth. Not undermining the Republic with radical ideology.

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