Bestowal of honors trivializes hard-earned degrees

ALL THE controversy surrounding whether the University of Massachusetts trustees should rescind an honorary degree given to President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, in light of Mugabe's bloody authoritarian regime against his political opponents, would never be an issue if universities did not grant honorary degrees in the first place. This silly practice trivializes the earning of a doctoral degree. These degrees should be earned, and should not given out like candy for promotional purposes. I earned mine and am proud of it. Regardless of what I do, because I earned it, it can't and won't be taken away.

MICHAEL LEVY
Andover