Preamble: In August 2017 the Lehigh University Board of Trustees received a petition
signed by over 30,000 calling on the Board to rescind Donald Trump’s Honorary Degree.
This followed a separate similar petition from members of the Lehigh community
forwarded to the Board in January 2016. In response to the August petition the Board
decided to take no action saying:
“Lehigh University encourages respectful dialogue, discussion and learning about
important societal issues.
The Board of Trustees remains committed to the university’s values and to its
“Principles of Our Equitable Community,” which recognize each person’s right to
think and speak as dictated by personal belief and to respectfully disagree with or
counter another’s point of view. “
In his own words*, statements made by President Trump do not meet Lehigh’s standards
for respectful discourse where differences of opinion exist. If a member of Lehigh’s oncampus community made one of these statements, he/she would be subject to disciplinary
action; taken in their entirety, he/she would be at risk of dismissal. In revoking Bill
Cosby’s honorary degree the Board cited behavior “inconsistent with the character and
high standards expected of honorees”. If we only adhere to our principles when
convenient and if we enforce our standards inconsistently, they are meaningless,
disingenuous, and worse. By staying silent we are bystanders; we normalize hate speech,
condone discrimination and bullying; we enable people in positions of power to corrode
the foundations of civil society; and we abdicate our commitment and responsibility to
uphold and sustain our core values. Perhaps most important, what message do we send to
students and staff and faculty about racist and sexist and disrespectful speech?
By revoking President Trump’s honorary degree on these grounds, we are not
commenting on his political views or policies, nor are we diminishing his right to speak
as dictated by personal belief. We are emphatically affirming that such speech is in
complete conflict with Lehigh’s values, is “inconsistent with the character and high
standards expected of honorees”, and is unacceptable from a member of our community.
In this regard, we should keep in mind honorary degree recipients who do meet these
standards, Marty Barron, Elie Weisel, William Buckley, Maya Angelou, Erik
Weihenmayer, and so many others.

Faculty Motion: The Lehigh University community expects its members to support free
speech and a diversity of ideas. We also expect members of our community to treat one
another with respect, to adhere to the Principles of Our Equitable Community, and to
observe formal policies and laws with respect to non-discrimination, a safe and
supportive campus environment, and workplace behavior. Donald Trump accepted an
honorary degree from Lehigh and so is a member of our community, subject to both its
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 privileges and its responsibilities. He has through a series of well documented
statements* exhibited behavior antithetical to Lehigh values. These statements are
unacceptable and provide strong evidence of an ongoing disregard for the values that are
the foundation of this university. As such the Lehigh University faculty call on the Board
of Trustees to revoke Donald Trump’s honorary degree. If the Board of Trustees decides
to take no action we request an explanation of how these statements* square with our
values and the principles of our equitable community, and are consistent with the
character and high standards expected of honorees.

*The following non-exhaustive list gives examples of racist, sexist, and disrespectful
remarks made by President Trump:
•

In discussing protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African
countries: “Why are we having all these people from shitthole/house countries
come here?” “Why do we need more Haitians?” “Take them out.”

•

After Charlottesville: “You also had people that were very fine people on both
sides…Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those
people were white supremacists by any stretch.”

•

Haitian immigrants “all have AIDS” and Nigerian immigrants will never “go back
to their huts” in Africa.

•

“I did try and fuck her. She was married. I moved on her like a bitch, but I
couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now
got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look. I’ve gotta
use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically
attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I
don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.
… Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”

•

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not
sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of
problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs.
They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”

•

“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims
entering the United States…”

•

in reference to people at campaign rallies who disagreed with ideas he expressed:

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 –

“If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out
of them, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell. I promise you I
will pay for the legal fees. I promise.”

– “I love the old days, you know? You know what I hate? There’s a guy
totally disruptive, throwing punches. We’re not allowed to punch back
anymore … I love the old days. You know what they used to do to guys
like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a
stretcher, folks.” “The guards are very gentle with him. He’s walking out
like big high-fives, he’s smiling … laughing. I’d like to punch him in the
face, I’ll tell ya.”
–

“In the good old days, they’d rip him out of that seat so fast. But today,
everybody’s politically correct. Our country’s going to hell with being
politically correct.”

–

“Get him out of here please. Get him out. Get him out … Are you from
Mexico? Are you from Mexico? Huh? Are you from Mexico?”

–

“Get out of here. Get out. Out! … This is amazing. So much fun. I love it.
I love it. We having a good time? USA, USA, USA! … All right, get him
out. Try not to hurt him. If you do, I’ll defend you in court. Don’t worry
about it … We had four guys, they jumped on him, they were swinging
and swinging. The next day, we got killed in the press — that we were too
rough. Give me a break. You know? Right? We don’t want to be too
politically correct anymore. Right, folks?”

•

On a Sexual Assault Accuser’s Appearance: “You take a look. Look at her, look at
her words … I don’t think so.”

•

Of Judge Gonzalo Curiel’s ability to preside over litigation associated with Trump
University “he has an absolute conflict of interest” given he is “of Mexican
heritage” and a member of a Latino lawyer’s association.

•

On Hilary Clinton losing to Barak Obama “She got schlonged, she lost, I mean
she lost.”

•

While visually mocking a disabled reporter: “Now, the poor guy, you’ve got to
see this guy: ‘Uhh, I don’t know what I said. Uhh, I don’t remember,’ he’s going
like ‘I don’t remember. Maybe that’s what I said’ “

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 •

Of presidential candidate Carly Fiorina: “Look at that face!” Can you imagine
that, the face of our next president?" "I mean, she's a woman, and I'm not
s'posedta say bad things, but really, folks, come on. “

•

On dating his daughter Ivanka: “Yeah, she's really something, and what a beauty,
that one. If I weren't happily married and, ya know, her father...”

•

On debate host Megyn Kelly " You could see there was blood coming out of her
eyes," "Blood coming out of her wherever."

•

On gay marriage: "It’s like in golf. A lot of people — I don’t want this to sound
trivial — but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very
unattractive. It’s weird. You see these great players with these really long putters
because they can’t sink three-footers anymore. And I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I
have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.”

•

On ranking a woman’s appearance: “A person who is flat-chested is very hard to
be a 10.”

•

On “deeply troubled” women: “They’re always the best in bed … You don’t want
to be with them for the long term. But for the short term, there’s nothing like it.”

•

Regarding competition for casinos “Are these the new neighbors we want?” “The
St. Regis Mohawk Indian record of criminal activity is well documented.”

•

In referring to Alicia Machado, 1996 Miss Universe from Venezuela as “Miss
Housekeeping” and “Miss Piggy”.

•

When asked about his image as a womanizer: "I don't enjoy that image. Yes I have
that image. I think women are beautiful - I think certain women are more
beautiful than others, to be perfectly honest – and it's fortunate I don't have to run
for political office."

•

In talking about women: “You have to treat 'em like shit”

•

“It doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and
beautiful piece of ass.”

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