Profs Protest Commencement Address by Justice Clarence Thomas
The Anita Hill controversy is still dogging Justice Clarence Thomas.
The U.S. Supreme Court justice will deliver the commencement address at the University of Georgia in his home state, prompting an outcry from some professors who say the timing is bad, Inside Higher Ed reports. They say the university is currently dealing with several sexual harassment allegations and Thomas’ invitation sends the wrong message.
Chris Cuomo, director of the Institute for Women’s Studies, told the publication that news of Thomas’ speech was “met with dismay.”
“Members of the UGA community who are concerned about the problems with enforcement of the university’s own policies against harassment wonder if the university administration is sending an intentional message that they believe matters of sexual harassment and gender equity are trivial,” she said in an e-mail.
University president Michael Adams defended Thomas’ selection today in an op-ed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Adams writes that Thomas has been “gracious with his time and in his support of UGA,” and has been particularly helpful to Georgia law students who aspire to Supreme Court clerkships. He also cheers for the Bulldogs.
“The University of Georgia has never had, and will never have, I hope, a political litmus test for the speakers who appear at commencement or other events,” he wrote.
