Harvard swarmed by truck billboards calling for president to resign in wake of UPenn fallout
Penn, Harvard and MIT presidents were grilled by Congress to answer whether 'calling for the genocide of Jews' violates school rules
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Billboard trucks demanding Harvard’s President Claudine Gay be fired were deployed to the New England campus on Sunday, Fox News Digital learned, just days after her controversial remarks to Congress regarding whether calls for the genocide of Jews breaks the school's code of conduct.
"FIRE GAY," the privately-funded trucks read, accompanied by photos of Gay while she appeared before Congress last Tuesday.
One of the trucks is circling the campus, while the other is positioned at the school's main gate and blaring Gay's exchange with Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik on Tuesday. The private funder running the billboard box truck campaign will also deploy a plane over campus this week with a banner reading, "HARVARD — STOP JEW HATRED," Fox News Digital learned.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The billboard trucks follow a similar protest last week on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus calling for the firing of Elizabeth Magill, the Ivy League school’s president. Magill announced her resignation on Saturday.
A truck on Harvard's campus demanding President Claudine Gay be fired for her handling of antisemitism on campus. (Fox News Digital )
"1 down, 2 to go," a source who deployed the trucks at Penn and Harvard told Fox News Digital under the condition of anonymity.
Magill, Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth came under fire last week after they appeared before Congress and were grilled about their handling of antisemitism on their respective campuses following Hamas launching attacks on Israel in October.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TRUCK BILLBOARDS CALLING FOR PENN PRESIDENT'S FIRING CIRCLE CAMPUS AFTER ISRAEL REMARKS
Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University, during a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. (Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Stefanik had especially fiery exchanges with the trio of academics, where she pressed them to answer if "calling for the genocide of Jews" violates the respective school’s codes of conduct.
"At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard’s rules of bullying and harassment?" Stefanik asked Gay specifically.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Protest trucks demanding Harvard President Claudine Gay be fired are circling the Ivy League campus on Sunday. (Fox News Digital)
STEFANIK APPLAUDS RESIGNATION OF UPENN PRESIDENT LIZ MAGILL: 'ONE DOWN. TWO TO GO'
"It can be, depending on the context," Gay responded.
"Antisemitic speech when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation – that is actionable conduct and we do take action," Gay said when pressed to answer "yes" or "no" if calls for the genocide of Jews breaks school rules.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"So the answer is yes, that calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard code of conduct, correct?" Stefanik asked.
"Again, it depends on the context," Gay said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It does not depend on the context. The answer is yes and this is why you should resign," Stefanik responded. "These are unacceptable answers across the board."
Liz Magill has resigned as president of the University of Pennsylvania after her testimony before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Dec. 5, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Gay, similar to Magill, issued an apology following outrage from Jewish groups, the public and lawmakers that the school president could not unequivocally answer that calls for the genocide of Jews break school rules.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I am sorry," Gay told the Harvard Crimson last week. "Words matter."
People stop to look at truck demanding Harvard's President Caludine Gay be fired. (Fox News Digital )
"When words amplify distress and pain, I don’t know how you could feel anything but regret," Gay added.
More than 70 members of Congress signed a letter to the school’s governing board members last week calling for the Harvard leader to resign, while pressure has mounted since Magill’s resignation that Gay also step down.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Harvard's Corporation and the Board of Overseers convened a board meeting Sunday which is anticipated to discuss Gay's leadership, the backlash to her responses to Congress, and whether the school should issue a public statement on the president, the Harvard Crimson reported Sunday morning.
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Harvard did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.