A prominent African-American scholar who accused Harvard University's outgoing president, Claudine Gay, of plagiarizing her work has endorsed the embattled scholar's work and asked the prestigious university's board of governors to is requesting that Japan clarify what specifically counts as plagiarism.
An attorney representing former Vanderbilt University political science professor Carol Swain has sent a letter to Harvard University, the school's highest governing body, asking what kind of “remedies” the Ivy League will provide for unauthorized use of her work. He wanted to know if he was looking for a “strategy.”
“Through its acts, omissions, and public statements surrounding the use of Dr. Swain's works, Harvard University is now invested in this matter and its aftermath,” attorney Robert Kleinman wrote on Swain's behalf.
The scathing letter, dated January 3, also asked for clarification on what constitutes “duplicate language” and when the line crosses into plagiarism.
“How many times should duplicate expressions be considered plagiarism in an academic work?” the letter asks.
“Does 5 duplicate languages constitute plagiarism? 50?”
Gay is accused of taking passages from the Woodrow Wilson Award-winning scholar's book “Black Face, Black Interests: African American Representation in Congress'' and using them in his 1997 doctoral dissertation.
“Let's sit down and talk to those who have been harmed by Gaye's plagiarism and the system that protects her,” Swain posted on X last month, calling for Gaye to be fired “after the fact.”
“Stop listening to people who apologize for plagiarism,” she also wrote in a lengthy post titled “Free Unsolicited Advice to Harvard.”
“Stop listening to the white and black racist mobs who scream racism even though they are among the worst offenders.”
Meanwhile, Harvard University announced that an independent investigation found three cases of “inappropriate citations” by gays, but no illegal activity.
Swain countered, saying, “Harvard cannot condemn Ms. Gay because she is a product of an elite system that holds a wealthy minority to a low standard.''
“This has a negative impact on the entire academic community and shames Americans of all races who have had to work for everything they earn.”
