Rachel Levine an honorary degree by prestigious US women's college

[IwantToRetire]

Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, announced it would be giving Admiral Rachel Levine an honorary degree.

On Sunday, Levine was formally given the award - causing a protest on campus over the fact she is transgender.

The college said it handed the award down for her work as an 'accomplished physician, public health expert, and LGBTQ+ advocate'.

She was one of four honorees selected by the college to speak at their commencement ceremony.

Feminist group the Women's Declaration International had protested the decision last weekend prior to the ceremony.

Article in full at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14745053/trans-former-health-chief-rachel-levine-fury-award-womens-college.html

This isn't a women's college. Wikipedia says it changed to letting men attend in 2015.

Seriously, you can go to their home page and see that they call themselves a women's college.

But that just misses the point.

Did you read the article?

Prominent anti-trans activist Riley Gaines had also posted about the decision to hand Levine the degree.

She wrote: 'Smith college, a private women’s college in Massachusetts, awarded Rachel (Richard) Levine an honorary degree today.

'He then delivered the commencement address. Ladies, congratulations — your graduation was led by the very thing feminism was allegedly fighting.'

...

After word of the degree was spread on social media, users attacked the decision to hand it to Levine.

One person posted: 'What a tragedy to have a man pretending to be a women receive an honorary degree at a woman's college.'

Another commented: 'That’s not progressive that’s a slap to the face of all women. Educated women.'

The commencement ceremony appears to have been plagued with problems, with fellow honoree Evelyn Harris, a musician, agreeing to give her degree back already.

Smith College President Sarah Willie-LeBreton said in a letter on Tuesday, only two days after the ceremony, that Harris had been found to plagiarize her speech.

Riley Gaines is not anti trans she is pro women for fairness in sport. I really hate how things like this are twisted in news reports.

Quite. Why aren't TRAs being described as anti-women activists? In that case, it would be an accurate description.

causing a protest on campus over the fact she is transgender.

This is misleading too. People aren't protesting about the fact the person is transgender, they are protesting about the fact that the person is a man.

If this issue had actually been reported on accurately, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Well this is what happens when only the DM reports on women's sex based rights issue.

And whilst I agree that the wording isn't perfect, I find this a really strange focus rather than the story itself!

If we want things to change, we need the public at large to understand the real issue. Otherwise they're vulnerable to TRA manipulation.

Most people aren't interested enough to give it deep thought so it needs to be spelled out to be obvious to those casually skim reading.