Harvard, MIT, and UPenn missed a very easy chance to do their most important job

• The presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn are under fire for their congressional hearing.
• The college leaders were asked if they would discipline students calling for the genocide of Jews.

College presidents have a difficult job.

Trust in higher education institutions has dipped to an all-time low, a Gallup poll recently showed. Enrollment continues to decrease as students find it hard to justify high tuition costs. And schools need to maintain an open academic environment that welcomes all perspectives without alienating marginalized communities or being accused of stifling free speech.

Especially important, though? College presidents often have to be a kind of "moral and spiritual leader," a chief communications officer for an East Coast college told Business Insider under the condition of anonymity.

"The challenge for the president, frankly, is to keep the community together," he said, pointing to times when world issues such as the Israel-Hamas conflict can divide a student body.

Navigating that challenge was on full display during Wednesday's contentious congressional hearing, where the leaders of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania grappled with and dodged a question on antisemitism on campus.

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York asked all three presidents if calling for the "genocide of Jews" violates their institution's code of conduct.

"It can be, depending on the context," Harvard's president Claudine Gay said.

Sally Kornbluth, the president of MIT, gave a similarly soft answer: "I have not heard calling for the genocide for Jews on our campus."

UPenn President Elizabeth Magill responded: "If the speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment."

Criticism from leaders across the board

All three presidents' replies were met with widespread criticism.

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates condemned the college leaders' responses.

"It's unbelievable that this needs to be said: calls for genocide are monstrous and antithetical to everything we represent as a country," Bates said in a statement.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who is also Jewish, told reporters that UPenn president Magill's answers were "unacceptable."

The waffled responses also attracted the ire of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who demanded that the college leaders "resign in disgrace."

"The presidents' answers reflect the profound educational, moral and ethical failures that pervade certain of our elite educational institutions due in large part to their failed leadership," Ackman wrote on X.

It's worth noting that Ackman has been selective in his outrage on antisemitism. When Elon Musk accused "Jewish communities" of pushing "hatred of whites," Ackman rushed to the defense of his fellow billionaire and said that "the world is a vastly better place because of him."

A spokesperson for Ackman did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of working hours.

Taking a harder stance in updated statements

The leaders should have been able to provide an "easy" answer to Stefanik's question, the college communications officer told BI.

"Absolutely, yes, that's harassment," the communications officer would have suggested saying. "We wouldn't stand for it."

He said he would have called out some of the nuances in the situation, but that taking a clear stance is "absolutely" part of a college president's duties.

"Your institution has a mission, has values, has its principles," he said. "If you've got an institution whose foundational principles emphasize equal treatment of every person, then taking a stand on civil rights, on transgender rights, something like that, right now is perfectly in line with your institution."

The leaders of Harvard and UPenn have since issued updated statements that clarify their stances.

In a video statement, Magill of UPenn said that "a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence that human beings can perpetrate. It's evil. Plain and simple."

Gay of Harvard similarly took a much harder stance in her followup statement.

"Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group are vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account," Gay said in a statement on X.

MIT has not issued a further statement, but published Kornbluth's opening statement to Congress on Wednesday.

Spokespersons for Harvard, MIT, and UPenn did not respond to BI's requests for comment.

Matthew Loh and Lina Batarags contributed reporting.