Washington University in St. Louis plans to grant antifeminist Phyllis Schlafly an honorary doctorate at commencement on May 16. The decision to honor Schlafly has ignited much disapproval and protest. Why are people so worked up about this? The reasons are numerous, here are a few:

• Schlafly describes her greatest accomplishment as having defeated the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would have amended the constitution to affirm equality of the sexes under the law.
• Schlafly blames the Virginia Tech massacre on the existence of English Departments.
• Schlafly believes that there can be no such thing as marital rape. In her own words: “By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don’t think you can call it rape.”
• Schlafly thinks Darwinism is a hoax, and criticizes evolutionary scientists for censoring creationism out of the classroom. In her own words: “It should surprise no one that the United States, land of the free and home of the brave, has the lowest percentage of evolution believers in the world. The highest percentage lived in the former East Germany.”
• Schlafly describes what happened in Abu Ghraib as a result of a gender-integrated army, feminism and Women Studies. In her own words: “I suspect that the picture of the woman soldier with a noose around the Iraqi man’s neck will soon show up on the bulletin boards of women’s studies centers and feminist college professors. That picture is the radical feminists’ ultimate fantasy of how they dream of treating men.”

Those within the Wash U community have every right and reason to be outraged. Calling themselves the Coalition for a Responsible Washington University, a group of students, faculty and staff are planning to demonstrate this Friday during commencement. The coalition’s goal is for the University to rescind its decision to honor Schlafly. The Coalition states that they are not protesting Schlafly’s views, but the University’s decision to honor those views. They ask that those present at commencement “silently stand and turn their back when Schlafly is granted her degree”. For more information, visit the coalition’s website : www.noschlaflydegree.com

To read the Wash U’s defense of their decision, go here.

Also, feel free to email Wash U’s chancellor Mark Wrighton with your views on the matter.