Lehigh University student petition calls for revoking Trump’s honorary degree

 White House chief of staff John Kelly, (left), watches as President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the lobby of Trump Tower, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017 in New York. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)

White House chief of staff John Kelly, (left), watches as President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the lobby of Trump Tower, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017 in New York. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)

Students and graduates of Lehigh University are urging the school to revoke the honorary degree of President Donald Trump after his comments that both sides are to blame for the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The change.org petition was started by Kelly McCoy, a recent graduate of the private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Trump received an honorary degree after he served as commencement speaker in 1988.

The petition says Trump fails to uphold the school’s principles, which include celebrating diversity and rejecting discrimination.

University spokeswoman Lori Friedman says they will handle the petition when it’s received.

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Lehigh trustees previously received a petition to revoke Trump’s honorary degree in January. Friedman says the board considered it but decided not to take any action at the time.

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