More than 1500 alumni and students have signed a letter to the president of St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. asking for the revocation of an honorary degree awarded to Sen. Susan Collins last year.
Collins graduated from St. Lawrence in 1975, but alumni, such as Kate Byrne of Portland, Maine say her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and her expressed doubt that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was sexually assaulted by him put her at odds with the school's commitment to supporting survivors of sexual assault.
"We feel that she completely undermines that action of the university supporting fellow students and victims and people in the community and that's not what St. Lawrence is about,” says Byrne.
The letter calls on the university's President and Board of Trustees to revoke Collins' honorary degree to show that it believes and supports survivors. A spokesperson for St. Lawrence released a written statement saying that honorary degrees are awarded to signify recognition of exemplary accomplishment, and that the university has never rescinded one and has no intention of doing so in this situation.
