We’ve all been told time and time again that Fisher is committed to becoming increasingly diverse and inclusive. However, when it comes to facing the ugly truth of Fisher’s past, that commitment seems further and further away.
In 2015, Fisher awarded former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani an honorary doctoral degree after he was invited to speak at the commencement ceremony. In 2021, students, faculty and alumni alike petitioned for the revoking of this honorary degree after the events of the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Board of Trustees voted against it, causing disappointment within the Fisher community.
Now, three years later, Giuliani has been ordered to pay $148 million to two Black Georgia election workers after he falsely accused them of stealing the 2020 election from Donald Trump. These defamed women were quickly flooded with racist threats and attacks over a single tweet made by the former president’s close confidant.
Many other colleges have already revoked their honorary degrees from both Giuliani and Trump, – yet it seems that Fisher is holding out on their supposed commitments to make our campus more diverse and inclusive. How does it look to potential students, that a (still) primarily White institution claiming to be committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, is still allowing a racist, racketeering man to represent their university?
As a current student, and a Black woman at that, I can say it doesn’t look appealing.
To make matters worse, Fisher has yet to make any statement on the issue after their initial vote in 2021. If the school is truly committed to the values it claims, revoking Guiliani’s honorary degree would be a no-brainer.
