University of Pennsylvania president resigns after testimony
University of Pennsylvania president resigns after testimony
Transcript
00:00 The president of the University of Pennsylvania has tendered her resignation, according to
00:05 a message sent by the chair of the school's board of trustees.
00:09 Liz McGill came under fire after she declined to say outright during a congressional hearing
00:14 that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate Penn's code of conduct.
00:18 I am asking, specifically calling for the genocide of Jews, does that constitute bullying
00:24 or harassment?
00:27 If it is directed and severe or pervasive, it is harassment.
00:31 So the answer is yes.
00:33 It is a context-dependent decision, Congresswoman.
00:36 She faced growing calls to resign, even as she sought to clarify her position in a social
00:40 media post.
00:42 I was not focused on, but I should have been.
00:46 The irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the
00:52 most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate.
00:57 McGill has agreed to stay on until an interim president is appointed and will remain a tenured
01:00 faculty member, according to the chair of the board of trustees.
01:04 At Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules of bullying
01:09 and harassment, yes or no?
01:12 It can be, depending on the context.
01:14 Along with McGill, Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of
01:18 Technology President Sally Kornbluth also testified.
01:21 They were criticized by their school's Jewish communities for tolerating anti-Semitism,
01:25 especially in statements by pro-Palestinian demonstrators since the Islamist group Hamas
01:30 attacked Israel on October 7.
01:32 That attack prompted a massive counterattack by Israel.
01:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]