There was a fight over D.E.I in the C-suite

“I will never give up”: Reply to Rufo, M.I.T., and G.K. Kornbluth

Those who believe that the modern university is tyrannized by left-wing ideology and undermined by diversity initiatives have been quick to elevate Dr. Gay into a symbol of systemic dysfunction. She is the most prominent casualty in the conservative crusade against intellectual establishment, and her defenders think she is a scapegoat. Christopher Rufo, who had pushed allegations of scholarly misconduct that finally resulted in Dr. Gay’s exit, could not disagree with that assessment. “I will always deliver results,” Ms. Stefanik said in a statement on Tuesday, promising to continue her efforts to “expose the rot” in America’s leading universities.

Others are moving back and forth. The billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban challenged Musk in a series of posts on X, defending the three principles of D.E.I. as good for business:

I would like to urge a broader caution during tense times since I have seen how quickly the truth can become a casualty. Too often they are pursuing self-serving agendas that should be met with more questions and less credulity.

In other university news, Sally Kornbluth, M.I.T.’s president who also faces calls to resign, announced four focuses for the school, including better understanding of free speech on campus and ensuring the efficacy of D.E.I. programs. The head of Harvard’s governing body is resisting calls to resign over the Gay controversy.

New Connections Between the Disgraced Financier and the Prominent Prince Andrew: A United States District Court Decision against Xerox

There are new documents which have associates mentioned in them. Released as part of a federal judge’s order, the documents identified people including Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, the businessman Tom Pritzker and Prince Andrew of Britain, adding new context into the disgraced financier’s relationships over the years. (Neither Clinton nor Trump has been accused of committing crimes; Andrew settled a lawsuit by an accuser.) The documents did not reveal any new smoking guns.

The regulators found that the employees were fired for being critical of Musk. Eight workers who had circulated a letter calling on the company to distance itself from Musk’s social media posts, were wrongly dismissed, according to the National Labor Relations Board. The case will head to an administrative judicial hearing in March.

Thousands of jobs will be cut by Xerox. The company will lay off fifteen percent of its global work force and build a new leadership team in order to focus on business services and away from selling photocopiers. On the news, Xerox’s shares fell more than 12 percent.