Rep. Foxx to Newsmax: Probes Needed of Nation's Campuses

House Education Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, following the controversial testimony of three Ivy League presidents before her committee, said Sunday on Newsmax that while there is a call from some to strip federal taxpayer dollars from the schools, what's needed now is a thorough investigation of many campuses where complaints of antisemitism have been made.

"There are a lot of complaints about Columbia, Cornell, and others," the North Carolina Republican said on Newsmax's "Sunday Report." "We will be doing a thorough investigation of them. And then we'll put out our findings and make some recommendations as to what should be done."

Presidents from Harvard University, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania came under fire after their testimony before Foxx's committee when they did not speak out against anti-Israel demonstrations and antisemitic actions on their campuses. 

"These presidents should have spoken out … they did not," said Foxx. "What's happened on these campuses is very egregious."

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill "had three chances" to speak out but didn't, she added. 

Magill has resigned her post but, Harvard President Claudine Gay has remained in her post. 

"We know that students feel very threatened by what's been happening on these campuses and the No. 1 role of the president of any university or college is to keep students safe," said Foxx, a former college president and administrator. "They are not doing that on these campuses."

Gay has also been accused of plagiarism, and that should be examined as well, said Foxx. 

"I suspect that nothing will be done about her for a while because there's a concern that Congress is pushing too hard on this issue, so we'll leave that up to the board of overseers and the board of trustees right now," she said. "We will again have our investigation and bring out the report and try to show the American people just how deep the rot goes in these universities because it's not just antisemitism."

Foxx added that it's time to quit calling Harvard the "most prestigious institution" in the country, but instead call it the "most expensive."

Further, if Gay is found definitely to have plagiarized on her academic work, she should be punished, Foxx said. 

"There were many students who were expelled in the last year at Harvard for plagiarism, and I think the board of trustees and the overseas or should take a much more critical look at this and say this is not a good thing to happen," she said. "Again, it's up to those people to deal with it, but they should have the highest standards if they're going to be considered the hot, prestigious institution."

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