Lehigh University faculty vote to revoke Trump’s honorary degree

Faculty members at a Pennsylvania university voted to revoke an honorary degree, awarded to President Trump 30 years ago.

More than 75 percent of the Lehigh University faculty took part in the online vote, with 83 percent voting in favor of rescinding Trump’s honorary degree.

The faculty in support of the motion said that due to Trump’s “long history of numerous documented statements that are antithetical to our core values and beneath the standard for Lehigh’s honorary degree holders,” they’ve voted to revoke the degree, according to their website.


Examples given by the faculty include Trump’s comments following the deadly Charlottesville rally, his “grab them by the pussy” audio recording, and his alleged remarks about Haitian immigrants who “all have AIDS.”

The student government body at the university also voted Tuesday in support of the motion.

“Donald Trump accepted an honorary degree from Lehigh and so is a member of our community, subject to both its privileges and its responsibilities. He has, through a series of well documented statements, exhibited behavior antithetical to Lehigh values,” the student body wrote in a referendum posted to Twitter.

The outcome of the votes will now be passed to Lehigh’s Board of Trustees.

Lehigh is a private university in Bethlehem, Pa. The school revoked Bill Cosby’s honorary degree in 2015, following a wave of women coming forward accusing the actor of sexual assault.

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