This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The University of Utah would never consider honoring a board member of a white-supremacist organization, regardless of that person's humanitarian efforts in other areas. Why, then, is it honoring Lynette Nielsen Gay, active member of two organizations that the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as hate groups?
A goal of the World Congress of Families, of which Gay was a board member, and Family Watch International, where she is a member, is to deny LGBT women and men civil rights, including the right to marry. In an effort to justify their actions, the U. says it is lauding Gay for her other endeavors.
Bestowing an honorary degree on Gay is an insensitive affront to thousands of university LGBT students, staff and alumni, as well as their supporters.
Until now I have been proud of the degree I earned at the U. of U. While I still value the degree, I have lost respect for the institution and will no longer support or donate to it. My lack of support will have little effect on the University of Utah, but surely I am not the only one to register disapproval.
Julene E. Fisher
West Valley City