When ‘contemporary issues’ and campus politics collide

Anemona Hartocollis, a New York Times reporter who covers higher education, was at a holiday party when she overheard revelers talking about Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University.

The people Ms. Hartocollis writes about are not usually fodder for holiday talk. But the Harvard controversy, Ms. Hartocollis said in a recent interview, has “dominated conversations outside academia.”

Dr. Gay, Harvard’s first black president and the second woman to lead the university, resigned last week — less than six months into her term — amid accusations of plagiarism and criticism of her testimony last month at a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism college campuses. It was the third time in less than a year that the president of a top American university resigned under pressure.

“People are fascinated,” said Ms. Hartocollis, who has reported on the turbulence that has occurred on campuses across the country since Hamas’s attack on Israel.

In an interview, Ms. Hartocollis reflected on her reporting during this controversial moment, how her pace has changed over the years and how Harvard has “evolved” since she studied there in the 1970s. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

How have the past few months been?

It’s been tiring since the beginning of October. We mobilized a cast of more than a dozen reporters with different areas of expertise from the business, political, cultural and education teams.

How much personal reporting were you able to do?

I’ve been to Cambridge, Massachusetts twice. I went the week after the October 7 Hamas attack – when Dr. Gay was criticized for not responding quickly enough to the attack or to statements made by pro-Palestinian students – to report on pro-Palestinian students being doxxed. Photos of their faces were placed larger than life on trucks under the headline “Harvard’s Leading Anti-Semites.” I spoke to students whose faces were on the trucks and it turned up a story. I made contacts with both pro-Palestinian and Jewish pro-Israel students.

I went again on December 11th when Dr. Gay was on the line and Harvard was considering whether to support her or let her go. I wanted to understand what the Harvard Corporation, a governing body, was thinking. It was good to be there because the day after I arrived they announced they were supporting her, and I was able to gather information by meeting people.

Have you spoken to Dr. Gay?

I did not speak to her during this period; she has been very wary. When I was in Cambridge in December, I attended a Hanukkah menorah lighting where I stood several feet away from her and her husband. I shocked myself afterwards for not trying to talk to her, although I don’t think I would have gotten far. She disappeared when the ceremony was over.

Were you and the rest of the education desk surprised by her dismissal?

No. We were ready; we saw it coming. We had one version of a story written one way – she resigns – and another with an alternative outcome – she stays. That’s standard practice in the news business.

Do you think the decision will affect Harvard’s reputation in the long run?

That is the question; I do not know the answer. That’s what Harvard should be concerned about.

Only one Small piece of the American population will ever attend an elite educational institution. So why are people so passionate about what’s happening to them?

All universities, not just Harvard, are a reflection of the state of our society; they are breeding grounds for ideas that then spread around the world. This particular story touched on many contemporary issues, such as the war between Israel and Hamas, the influence of big money on universities and race and its impact on our lives. I think people came in through some doors.

You studied at Harvard in the 1970s – how has that changed in the decades since?

What strikes me is how much the same it is; it has evolved in a consistent direction. Many debates are the same.

You have been writing education for The Times on and off for almost thirty years. How has your past reporting prepared you for this moment?

Whether it’s a big or small story, the principles of reporting are the same. Maybe this was more like political reporting than other types of reporting I do, but it’s not that different from chasing a fire or a crime: you gather information, figure out who to talk to (and hope they’ll talk). and tries to do that. there if something happens.

What was the most challenging part of your reporting?

Many people are only willing to talk off the record. It is a sensitive story. It’s a story where people are reluctant to be open about what they think.

What are the big questions people should be asking as this story continues to develop?

What do we expect from a president of Harvard, the leader of probably the most prestigious university in the country? Did race play a role in her selection and how much should it be for an academic or administrative position? Should university presidents make statements on world affairs? What, if any, are appropriate boundaries of speech for students? Should a college president be judged on the same standards as students, or perhaps even at a higher level? What is plagiarism?

Higher education is plagued by a litany of problems: opaque admissions policies, runaway tuition costs, degree inflation, cancel culture. How do we fix it? Can we?

There is no doubt that college tuition costs are out of reach for most people. There are increasing questions about whether college is a decent return on investment. So the experience of going to college is one that many people can relate to and want to read about. Can those problems be solved? They seemed quite persistent.

Any final thoughts?

It’s an important story, one that I urge people to follow. And it will remain a story for a while, despite the wishes of many involved that it would just go away.