Jason Arday, a former Cambridge professor and known fraud, has reportedly taken his own life after resigning from his position due to plagiarism scandals. Before being hired at Cambridge, Arday had lied about many aspects of his life story and academic work, making several false claims about holding positions he never held, running 30 marathons in 35 days, that he couldn’t read or write until he was 18, or that a pig’s head was left outside his parents’ house. Many have described him as the “face of DEI,” stating that he was only hired because he was black and that he was able to con the DEI system to get the job in the first place. Ultimately, this proved true: after people looked into his background, it became clear that he was an academic fraud who had been placed in a high position without earning it. Now Arday has taken his own life, leaving his two children behind. Worst is that all of this could have been prevented. Had Cambridge the wherewithal to understand that placing unqualified people in positions they cannot handle, for the sake of diversity and not merit, is irresponsible. 

—Alexandra Miskewitz