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One year after he began campaigning to overturn a presidential election, Rudy Giuliani still has his honorary doctorate from Syracuse University’s College of Law.

Now, the leaders of Syracuse University’s Student Association and Student Bar Association — the organizations representing SU undergraduates and College of Law students — want to see that degree rescinded.

“When he received his honorary degree back in 1989, he might have portrayed the values or initiatives of the school then,” said Mazzy Kaila, executive president of SBA. “I don’t think there’s any room for that now.”

Kaila, along with SBA Vice President Scott Ceurvels and SA President David Bruen, have called for SU to take action to revoke Giuliani’s honorary doctorate. What exactly such a process would look like remains unclear. 

Giuliani received his honorary degree from SU in 1989 following his term as an attorney for the Southern District of New York that saw him spearhead a crackdown on organized crime and insider training.

His work as mayor of New York City in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks — an event that elevated Giuliani to international stardom — earned Giuliani a controversial invitation back to SU as a commencement speaker in 2002.

Giuliani’s visit was greeted by student protests denouncing his policing policies, including the instances of police brutality that took place during his tenure. Giuliani dismissed those protests in his commencement speech. 

In the last year, Giuliani has faced backlash and lawsuits for his role in campaigning to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, a campaign that saw him push widely debunked voter fraud conspiracy theories. 

So far, at least two other universities — Drexel University and Middlebury College — have revoked honorary degrees given to Giuliani in light of his actions during the election. The New York state appellate court has also suspended his law license. 

An SU spokesperson declined to comment on whether the university had begun looking into whether it would rescind Giuliani’s degree, or if such a process to do so exists at the university. 

The fact that Giuliani’s honorary degree came not just from SU, but from the university’s College of Law specifically, means his ethical failings as a lawyer should weigh heavily on any decision SU makes, Kaila said. 

Kaila and Ceurvels contend that the legal profession has a responsibility to govern itself and that stripping Giuliani of his honors and awards is one of many mechanisms by which the field can hold him accountable for his actions. 

SU, they said, has a role to play in that process.

“Just as much as accomplishments deserve recognition, misconduct calls for accountability,” Ceurvels said. “With the legal profession, stripping someone of their ability to practice and stripping someone of those honorary awards — that is the legal profession’s method of accountability.”

Most students Kaila and Ceurvels have spoken to about the honorary degree were unaware of it until recently, they said. Kaila said she was “embarrassed” to learn of it. Multiple College of Law faculty members The Daily Orange reached out to for comment also said they didn’t know SU had conferred a degree on Giuliani. 

Bruen learned of the degree when he reviewed a list of previous SU commencement speakers ahead of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s visit to campus. He said he was surprised to find Giuliani’s name on that list, alongside his honorary degree.

“He has been suspended for his law license, and undermined our elections, and has advocated for really, really absurd things,” Bruen said. “He still has an honorary degree from this university. And I think the longer that lasts, the more it kind of devalues an honorary degree from the College of Law.”

Kaila and Ceurvels echoed that point. The election of SU College of Law alumnus Joe Biden as president may have elevated the school’s profile, but Giuliani maintaining his honorary degree from the school could have the opposite impact on its reputation, Kaila said. 

Opinions on what SU should do with Giuliani’s degree aren’t unanimous. 

Yousr Dhaouadi, president of SU’s Graduate Student Organization, declined to say whether she believes SU should rescind Giuliani’s degree, stating she was not well-informed enough on Giuliani’s conduct before and after he received it. 

“I think it is an important decision handling an awarded degree and should be reviewed and thought through well by those with an understanding of what went into the degree and how that is impacted by Giuliani today,” Dhaouadi said in an email to The D.O. 

Gregory Germain, a professor in the College of Law, said he feels that any discussion to rescind Giuliani’s degree could play into cancel culture — and that he’s not sure Giuliani’s “bungling” attempt to overturn the election should outweigh his past accomplishments. 

“People now want to label historical and contemporary figures as either ‘good or bad,’ ‘right or wrong,’” Germain said. “Do we cancel an entire life, or entire generations, over popular opinions at a particular point in time?”

Kaila argued Giuliani’s actions following the 2020 election aren’t the only reason Giuliani’s degree should come under scrutiny, and his controversial actions as mayor also warrant reconsideration.

Winston Grady-Willis was a professor in SU’s African American studies department in 2002 when his department opted not to participate in the commencement ceremony Giuliani spoke at. He believes the university had a chance to reevaluate Giuliani’s legacy 20 years ago, and that opportunity has come up again.  

The university could also wait for the state court that suspended Giuliani’s law license to make its final ruling, which the court has said will likely bring “permanent sanctions” against Giuliani. That could include his permanent disbarment. 

“There was a moment in the early 2000s when the institutions could have taken what would today be considered a social justice stand,” Grady-Willis said. “But it’s not too late. The institution, its powers that be, can still make that determination.”

Published on November 8, 2021 at 1:04 am

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu