Share
Commentary

Woman Whom Harvard President Allegedly Plagiarized Says University Must Steer 'Back Towards Sanity'

Share

Former political science professor Dr. Carol Swain, whose work Harvard University President Dr. Claudine Gay allegedly plagiarized, is calling for her firing.

Swain wants Harvard to hire a new, qualified president who will “steer the university back towards sanity.”

Gay has been accused of lifting passages from multiple authors without attribution, including two instances from Swain’s seminal 1994 book, “Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress” for her 1997 Ph.D. dissertation at Harvard, according to The Harvard Crimson.

Incidentally, Swain’s book won multiple awards in the field including from the American Political Science Association and was originally published by Harvard University Press.

In a Thursday post on X, Swain wrote, “I have some free unsolicited advice for Harvard University.” Her suggestions included, “Stop listening to the apologists for plagiarism,” and “Fire Claudine Gay posthaste. She can be relieved of duties until the terms are negotiated.”

Swain continued advising, “Stop listening to the racist mob of whites and blacks who cry racism while being among the worst offenders,” then, “Hire the best man or woman who can steer the university back towards sanity. Appeasing the Marxist identity politics mob should not be a consideration.”

The former Vanderbilt University professor went on to suggest the hire could “be a middle to older age white Jewish man who believes in classical liberalism.”

Is Harvard protecting Claudine Gay?

The recent controversy regarding Gay stems from her unwillingness, while testifying before Congress earlier this month, to label students’ speech calling for the genocide of Jews to be in violation of Harvard’s rules of conduct.

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Harvard alumna, asked Gay, “At Harvard does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment? Yes or no.”

“It can be depending on the context,” the university president answered.

Related:
It's Been 6 Years Since Greta Thunberg Warned We Have 5 Years to Stop the Extinction of Humanity

“Do you understand that your testimony is dehumanizing [Jewish students]? Do you understand that dehumanization is part of anti-Semitism?” Stefanik followed up.

Gay reiterated that if a student called for the genocide of Jews, it could be a violation of Harvard’s rules.

“Anti-Semite rhetoric, if it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment intimidation, that is actionable conduct, and we do take action,” she said, but again testified that calling for genocide in-and-of itself may be permissible at Harvard, depending on the context.

“It does not depend on the context… and this is why you should resign,” Stefanik responded.

Swain told Real America’s Voice on Thursday that Gay should be fired based on her instances of alleged plagiarism alone.

“From all indications, she is a serial plagiarist, and she should be held accountable. She should not be the president of any college or university,” Swain said.

“If the president of Harvard University can get away with plagiarism, I think it will encourage a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t do so to engage in the same type of behavior,” she added.

When asked specifically about the passages Gay took from her book “Black Faces, Black Interests,” Swain said her biggest problem with it was not acknowledging the former professor’s whole research agenda.

“She’s not letting anyone know that she’s building on research that someone else opened up that area. So normally you would cite the leading scholar and would affirm or challenge or expand that research,” Swain said. “I was the lead authority, and she was not acknowledging that she was following in my footsteps.”

What Gay did was take some of Swain’s work and not give her credit for it.

Swain argued that Gay robbing her and others out of citations hurts them.

“In academia, your stature depends on how many times people cite your work,” she said. “But I don’t just blame her. I blame her committee members, reviewers of her articles, people in the political science profession that decided to start canceling me before we even knew of the cancel culture because I was becoming increasingly conservative.”

“I was becoming a Christian. I became a Republican,” Swain continued. “And so what they did is they allowed people not to cite my work.”

Harvard’s dissertation committees are made up of academics who were charged with reviewing and challenging students’ work, which is to include original research in the field, according to the university’s website.

Presumably, the same basic practice was in place in the 1990s when Gay wrote her dissertation.

Gay should be removed as Harvard’s president both for violations of basic of academic standards and her refusal to take a strong stand to protect Jewish students on campus.


Did you know that publishers everywhere are laying people off at Christmas? It’s not an accident or random. 

 

Big Tech is literally taking down every news media publisher possible, even the liberal ones, just so they can get rid of sites like The Western Journal once and for all.

 

They know that together, readers like you and publishers like us handed Donald Trump the victory in 2016. 

 

And, what’s worse, they know that if they hadn’t used COVID to change the rules in 2020, Trump would be in the White House right now. 

 

So their response is simple: Conservative publishers must die. And they’re doing their best to put us in the grave as I write this.

 

That means that more than ever, we depend on you and you alone. 

 

Will you join with us this Christmas and become a member of The Western Journal? During these days leading up to Christmas, we’re offering $10 off some of our most popular membership options.

 

If you want to stick it to Big Tech, start the new year with actual, factual news, or just support The Western Journal as we continue the fight for our country, please become a member today

 

Don’t wait. Time is critical, and Big Tech tightens the squeeze every single day. 

 

Thank you for reading The Western Journal!

 

Merry Christmas,

Josh Manning

Deputy Managing Editor

P.S. If you prefer, a simple direct donation can be made here. Again, thank you and Merry Christmas!

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , ,
Share
Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.

Conversation