Cosby’s honorary degree unacceptable
On Thursday, April 26, Bill Cosby was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault: penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant. Cosby is now a convicted felon guilty of sexual assault, after decades of suspected behavior, and can face up to 10 years in prison according to NBC news.
Cosby, by his own admission, has repeatedly drugged and molested women. He was and is a predator, maliciously targeting women so he could rape them. He lied about who he was, hid his true agenda, convinced women they could trust him, and summarily violated them. Cosby truly represents a complete breakdown of the moral values and ideals that we all hope to demonstrate and emulate.
In 2001, Rensselaer awarded Bill Cosby an honorary doctorate in arts and humane letters. Of the 57 honorary degrees he has been awarded, 36 have been rescinded since 2014. His honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy has also been rescinded.
We demand action from the RPI Board of Trustees: rescind Bill Cosby’s honorary degree. Cosby stands against the values that RPI claims to champion and hopes to instill in everyone who walks through our doors. We advocate and preach consent in our actions and undeniable respect for others. We are committed to the health and safety of our students, the non-violation of other humans, and the preservation of dignity for all. We hope that our students become virtuous, that they help those in need, and that they display an ethical character in every action they take. Cosby is the antithesis of these community values.
Rescinding Mr. Cosby’s honorary degree isn’t an issue that requires speculation or excessive reflection; Cosby’s moral values are not a matter discussion. The RPI community should not—now or ever—honor Cosby in any way. It’s shameful that RPI has silently looked on, by while Ivy League colleges such as Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania, as well as governmental services like the United States Navy, have denounced Cosby. We need to stand up and rebuke Cosby, unafraid to speak out and unwilling to continue our support of someone this abhorrent.
To our fellow students: no person so reprehensible, no actions so deplorable, should ever represent us and our values, and we should not stand behind someone as loathsome and disgraceful as Bill Cosby. We hope you join us in signing our petition at petitions.union.rpi.edu demanding the rescission of Bill Cosby’s honorary degree.
Bryan Johns
CSCI/BMGT ’19
Michael Gardner
CSE/CS ’17, TC&E G’18
Hanna Neuman
CSCI ’20
Jason Colville
BMED ’17
Erica Lane
BMED ’18
Ellie Mees
ECSE ’18
Mitch Cieminski
STS G’22
N. Bucky Stanton
STS G’22
Jacob Speicher
CSCI / COGS ’19
Steve Sperazza
ECSE ’17, G’18
Erin Napier
CIVL ’19
Taylor Vines
CHME ’20
Katherine Crofford
MECL ’21
Claudia Howes
PHYS/PSYC ’19
Yarden Ne’eman
CS/ITWS ’18
Victoria Makara
NUCL ’20
Liam Fahey
AERO ’20
Felicity Kubic
MECL ’19
Justin Reimertz
BFMB ’18
Advaith Narayan
MECL ’21
Anastasia Feraco
MTLE ’19
Jackson Wong
MTLE ’18
Pranav Suppal
BMED ’20
Chris Daniels
CHME ’18
R. Fiona Smith
PHYS ’18
Aquiel Godeau
ELEC ’18
Nicholas Luczak
CSCI ’20
Alex Norman
PHYS/MATH ’18
Rose Clare Pisacano
ENVE ’18
Robert Van Brocklin
BCBP ’19
Kelly Odgers
PHYS G’20
Hannah Bouta
AERO/MECL ’19
Emma Steed
CSCI ’19
Lindsey Carpenter
ARCH ’20
Maddie Steinmetz
ARCH ’20
Amanda March
ARCH ’20
Mia Rogers
ARCH ’20
Sarah Cimino
ARCH ’20
Grace Roller
CSCI ’20
Noah Cohen
AERO ’21
Newman Wu
ELEC ’18
Shu Nong Wu
ECSE ’18
Samichya Sapkota
BME ’20
Bhagyashree Subramaniam
BME ’19
Oliva Constamessa
CHME ’19
Erin Lazar
CHME ’19
Nathaniel Wheeler
CSCI ’19
Eric Franco
GSAS ’20
Jordan Faas-Bush
CSCI/GSAS ’20
Elizabeth O’Deens
CSCI ’20
Hannah Merrow
PSYS/STSO ’18
Justin Etzine
CSCI/ITWS ’18, MBA ’19
James Flamino
PHYS ’17, G’21
Galen Gold
ELEC ’20
Chase Roberts
CSCI/MATH ’18
Amy Lemos
ENVE ’20
Allison Sobota
EE/MECL ’20
Akhil Jacob
CSYS ’20
Daniel Lapidus
MECL ’18
Valrérie Fix
COG/CS
Michaela Yamashita
MECL/DIS ’18
Esmeralda Ramirez
BME ’19
Carlos Power
ITWS ’21
Alex Jackowski
CSCI ’20
Lacus Davis
CS/MATH ’20
James Cassidy
MECL/CS ’20
Adam Rabinowitz
CS/MATH ’20
Katherine Mamouzellos
AERO ’20
Colin Nagle
CIVL ’20
Mackenzie Dymek
AERO/MECL ’20
Danielle Rodriguez
MGTE ’21
Allison Douglas
ENVE ’21
Stefanie Warner
ARCH ’19
Christian Bossio
BMED ’19
Michael Miller
MECL ’21
Timothy Haddad
CIVL ’20
Christina Deng
CIVL ’21
Theodor Ross
EE/BME ’18
Chris Noury
CHME ’20
Alexander Cope
CHME ’20
Clara Johnson
MECL ’20
Kinza Siddiqui
CSCI ’20
Glenn Edmonds
PHYS ’20
Sammy Moumen
CHME ’20
Peter Firmin
CHME ’20
Robert Nilsen
ARCH ’19
Sanjana Davuluri
BFMB ’20
Amechi Nwandu
MGTE ’21
Gabriel Benelli
CSCI ’21
Henry Lutz
CHME ’21
Francis Mulvey
MECL ’21
Ascanio Montemaggi
PHYS ’21
Samantha Griswold
MECL ’21
Ryan Emerling
CSCI ’21
Rachel Puppale
CSCI ’20
Gary Zhu
CSYS ’20
Alex Gentile
CSCI ’18
Jarrett Amirault
BIOL ’20
Aspen Goodman
MGMT ’20
Monisha Das
CHME/STS ’20
Thomas Jansson
ARCH ’20
Ryan Salmon
ARCH ’20
Nirav Patel
AERO ’20
Pooja Bala
BFMB ’21
Jaydeep Patel
CSE/EE ’21
Melissa Mann
BGMT ’18
Yuantai Li
CSCI ’19
Stanley Cheung
CSCI ’18
Diana Klyuchnik
EE ’20
Dakota Schiffer
IME/PDI ’19
Zoe Shannon
IME ’20
Franchine Pataray
IME/PDI ’19
Henry Jacques
MECL ’21
Hailey Miller
AERO ’21
Chris Testa
MECL ’21
Laura Kling
BCBP ’21
Erin Kelley
BFMB ’21
Gurjeet Singh
AERO ’20
Ethan Rose
CSCI/MATH ’20
Tim George
MECL ’20
Caroline Fowler
BIOL ’20
Grace Heine
BIOL ’20
Benjamin Mo
BME ’20
Henry Grover
CSCI ’19
Matthew Fields
MTLE ’18
Joey Lyon
CSCI ’20
Caitlyn Gardiner
CSCI ’19
Nathan Rosengrant
MECL ’18
Shin Sasakura
MECL ’21
Aislin Charles
CIVL ’21
Sarah MacLead
Undeclared ’21
Kerryn Herrington
BMED ’20
Kristina Kristo
BMED ’20
Naomi Robinson
CHME ’19
Jake Miner
ELEC ’20
Daniel Speer
MECL ’20
Zachary Fournier
AERO ’20
Logan Ngan
DIS/MECL ’21
Adam Kredar
CSYS ’19
Charles Howlingcrane
CHME ’20
Noah Emrick
MECL ’20
Kevin Sanita
CSCI/CSYS ’20
Brendan Freiler
CSCI/CSYS ’18
Zachary Taylor
AERO ’21
Josephine Lyons
MATH/CSCI ’20
Tenzin Tashi
MTLE ’19
Calliana Faulk
PSYC ’19
Molly Osterberg
GSAS ’18
Catherine Loughman
AERO ’20
David Raab
ELEC ’19
Ethan Gibson
CSCI ’20
Isabella Arroyo
MATH ’20
Kolby Fisher
CSCI ’21
Majken Rasmussen
PHYS ’20
Jennifer Howell-Clark
PHYS G’20
Shea Roe
BFMB ’20
Sean Ferracioli
MECL ’18
Olivia Paradis
BMED/ELEC ’19
Kaitlyn Morris
CHME ’21
Iris Delaney
CHME ’20
Katherine Spencer
MECL ’19
Shalini Kandula
BIOL ’18
Alexandra Sirois
BMED ’18
Cameron Dias
CHME ’19
Gabrielle Gentile
CHME ’21
Karen Zhu
BIOL ’19
Alexandra Laing
NUCL ’20
Melanie Psota
CHME ’18
Julia Vinagolu-Baur
MGMT ’18 G’19
Helen Merricks
BIOL ’18
Claira Poirier
CSCI ’18
Dan Bruce
ITWS ’16
Devin Dicello
BMED ’19
Nancy Bush
CHEM/SUST ’19
Milo Trujillo
CSCI/STSO ’18
Chiara Mancinelli
CHEM ’19
Raina Page
ARCH ’19
Connor Griffin
GSAS/COMM ’19
Keegan Caraway
ECSE ’18
Alyssa Quezada
BMED ’20
Michael Cuozzo
MECL ‘17
Mary Clare Crochiere
BMED ’19
Lauriane Gaudette
BMED ’18
Meghan Quinn
CHME ’20
Rebecca Nungesser
CHME ’20
David Sparkman
ITWS ’18
Kayla Cinnamon
ITWS ’18
Imani Taylor
ITWS ’20
Mohammed Ghani
MECL ’18
Matthew DeMio
ARCH ’19
Emily Roth
BME ’19
Benjamin Shaw
CSCI ’18
Alex Carandang
MECL ’18
Tyler Miller
COGS ’20
Joerene Aviles
BMED ’19