Thomas Lifson of the American Thinker has a good account of the coup d’etat at Harvard (see below-the resignation of embattled Harvard President Lawrence Summers):
“The breaking point began to unfold when Summers dared to entertain as a possible hypothesis that there might be inherent differences between men and women, which in turn might affect the success females experience in mathematical and scientific endeavors. It has now been established that orthodox feminism, not free intellectual inquiry, determines what may be said by the leaders of Harvard. ‘Veritas’ Latin for ‘truth’ should be replaced as Harvard’s official motto by some other expression. Perhaps the motto of the Red Guards during China’s Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution: ‘Politics in command.’…
“The lesson is now clear. Even the most powerful of universities can be bullied by a minority within a minority segment of the university. By yelling and protesting, by embarrassing with a potential vote of non-support, and ultimately by threatening non-compliance with the sacred informal rules governing academic life, the wealthy and influential members of even the most prestigious governing boards can be cowed.”
As columnist Thomas Sowell points out, Summers took on the forces of political correctness several times. There was the inevitable uproar, after which Summers just as inevitably “apologized — again. But, in the end, these hasty retreats did not save his job.”
You can’t apologize to an offended feminist-he should have known that and stood his ground. Better to go down with guns blazing.