Harvard University is offering a master class in double standards.

As the Herald reported, Harvard President Claudine Gay will need to make three corrections to her Ph.D. dissertation amid plagiarism allegations, according to multiple reports.

The school’s Honor Code is clear: “Cheating on exams or problem sets, plagiarizing or misrepresenting the ideas or language of someone else as one’s own, falsifying data, or any other instance of academic dishonesty violates the standards of our community, as well as the standards of the wider world of learning and affairs.”

Harvard means business: “Students who, for whatever reason, submit work either not their own or without clear attribution to its sources will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including requirement to withdraw from the College,” according to Harvard’s web site.

Except for Claudine Gay.

School newspaper the Harvard Crimson noted that the Harvard Corporation revealed, in part: “The members … concluded that Gay’s inadequate citations, while regrettable, did not constitute research misconduct.”

Regrettable. Is that another way of saying it depends “on the context?”

The Corporation is doing an admirable job of circling the wagons and providing Gay with a formidable Teflon coating.

It supported Gay when, during a Congressional hearing earlier this month, she refused to characterize calls for the genocide of Jews as a breach of Harvard’s code of conduct. This amid a surge in antisemitism on campuses following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

Donors pulled their funding, famous alums called for her resignation. But the Harvard Corporation had her back: Gay remains as president.

In a statement, it said: “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.”

Even now, as a congressional committee is expanding its probe into  antisemitism at Harvard to include Gay’s work, the Harvard Corporation isn’t budging.

At what cost to Harvard?

According to Fox Business, Harvard reported a 17% decline in its early admissions applications compared to a year ago as it remains mired in controversy over its handling of antisemitism on campus. The bloom is off the rose.

The latest “discipline for thee but not for me” position on plagiarism can only further erode the school’s reputation.

The Crimson reported that 27 students were forced to withdraw from Harvard College during the 2020-2021 academic year due to academic dishonesty, citing a report last year. Plagiarism and exam cheating were the most cited concerns in Honor Council cases.

It’s easy to imagine an expelled student having a “hey, wait a minute” moment when reading the latest about Gay. Perhaps right before calling a lawyer.

Neither President Gay nor the Harvard Corporation are doing the school any favors. It’s losing donors, it’s losing integrity, and it’s losing its once-lofty reputation.

What will it take the Harvard Corporation to realize that it needs to lose its president.