This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Some students at the University of Utah are going to protest the school's awarding an honorary doctoral degree to Lynette Nielson Gay. I'm surprised to learn that students think selecting people to receive such honors should be subject to their approval.

Perhaps once they have graduated, gotten experience in the real world and matured a bit, they will gain sufficient wisdom to see that turning their backs to Gay demeans them since they are refusing to recognize her generous philanthropic work due to her involvement with one group having some policies with which they disagree.

If these students work hard and become sufficiently successful to participate in the administration of an institution of higher learning, they may eventually reach a level where selecting outstanding recipients of honorary degrees is a legitimate part of their responsibilities.

D. James Croft

Midway