'Context' Takes Its First Victim: UPenn President Liz Magill Resigns

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned on Saturday. Her resignation comes amidst widespread criticism of her answers to a US House of Representatives committee hearing to address the issue of anti-Semitism on university campuses.

Scott Bok, Chair of the University of Pennsylvania's board of trustees, announced Magill's resignation in a statement, saying, "I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania." Magill will remain a tenured faculty member at the university's law school, Bok said.

Magill, along with Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth, faced backlash for not giving a clear "yes" or "no" response when asked if advocating for the genocide of Jews would violate their respective university policies on bullying and harassment.

They asserted a commitment to free expression and suggested that the context, such as whether the speech targeted individuals, would determine any policy breach.