New England Public Radio

Springfield College Takes Back Bill Cosby’s Honorary Degree

Springfield College is revoking the honorary degree awarded to comedian Bill Cosby.  This comes after other schools did the same, including Tufts just this month.

The Springfield College archives contain a photo with Cosby posing in 2002 with other honorary degree recipients, smiling and wearing what appears to be a Springfield College baseball hat.

The degree has now been revoked in the wake of allegations of sexual assault made against Cosby by dozens of women.

Doug Coupe is on the college’s board.

“Many of the allegations that have been brought forward were fundamentally inconsistent with the values of Springfield College and the values that we expect honorary degree holders and — quite frankly — regular degree holders to maintain,” Coupe says.

Coupe says the board had serious discussions about whether Cosby — who lives in Shelburne, Massachusetts — was getting due process. But he says ultimately it was Cosby’s own words in a deposition that convinced the board to act.

A Springfield College spokesperson confirms this is the first time the school has revoked an honorary degree. He says it’s awarded around 400.

President Offers Pointed Reference To Cosby Allegations

President Obama says he has no mechanism to take away the U.S. Medal of Freedom awarded to comedian and western Massachusetts resident Bill Cosby. But the president offered a pointed reference to allegations made against Cosby.

“If you give a woman — or a man, for that matter — without his or her knowledge, a drug and then have sex with that person without consent, that’s rape,” Obama said.

And the president added that no civilized country should have tolerance for rape.

Cosby has denied wrongdoing, but did acknowledge in a recently unsealed deposition that he obtained Quaaludes to give to young women he wanted to have sex with.

Cosby, who lives in Shelburne Falls, was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 2002 by President George W. Bush.

The Short List: Western Mass Griping, Drug Lab Jaw-Dropping And Cosby’s Free Falling

NEPR'S WEEK IN REVIEW

What made The Short List this week?

  • A MassBenchmarks report released this week found the state’s economy is as strong as it’s been since the late 1990s. But the uptick in western Mass? Less impressive.
  • A chemist at a state drug lab on Amherst may have tainted thousands of criminal cases, instead of just a few dozen. That’s the news this week as Sonja Farak’s statements to a correctional center nurse became public.
  • Another awful week for comedian and Shelburne Falls resident Bill Cosby, as a judge unsealed court documents showing Cosby admitted to getting quaaludes to give women he wanted to have sex with.

To explore these stories, New England Public Radio’s Susan Kaplan sat down with Rick Hurst of the African American Point Of View and Larry Parnass of the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Hear their conversation by clicking the audio player above.

Worcester Theatre CEO Breathes ‘Sigh Of Relief’ After Cosby Show Cancelled

The president and CEO of a Worcester theater says he’s relieved that a Bill Cosby show at his venue has been canceled. The comedian faces accusations and multiple lawsuits over sexual assault.

Troy Siebels of the Hanover Theatre says he’d been looking for ways to cancel the Cosby show, but contractually his hands were tied. That is, until the show’s promoter called Tuesday evening, saying the February 6th event was off.

“We are breathing a sigh of relief, because it’s just a controversy we don’t need,” Siebels says.

Even before the cancellation, the theater offered refunds, with about 400 of the 1300 ticket-holders requesting their money back.

Siebels says Cosby is innocent until proven guilty, but adds that – like it or not – he’s already convicted in the eye of the public.

“The reality – our reality – is that it’s not about the truth. It’s about the perception of the truth,” he says. “So I don’t know and I probably will never know if he’s guilty. But I know that enough of the audience thinks that he probably is and thinks that it reflects poorly on us to have him in the building.”

Siebels notes another Cosby show in Canada last weekend was interrupted by protesters. Cosby is still scheduled to appear at two shows in Boston in February.

The comedian, who lives in Shelburn, Massachusetts, has kept quiet about the controversy, though his lawyer has said the accusers are lying and the scandal driven by the media.

MA Sen. Stan Rosenberg Pushes Bill to Protect Images of State Celebrities After Death

A bill that would protect the image and work of celebrities after their death has been introduced to the Massachusetts State legislature, and could pass during the legislature’s informal session.

State Senator Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst says the bill would allow Massachusetts celebrities to maintain their residence in the state, without worrying over whether their image or persona could be co-opted after their death. Rosenberg says Massachusetts currently provides protections for living celebrities, but celebrity heirs have no so-called “right to publicity” after a celebrity’s death.

“We have a number of celebrities, sports celebrities, actors, performers of various sorts, who live in Massachusetts, a very desirable place in which to live, because of our cultural environment, etc. And they want to continue to live here, but are basically having to consider the possibility of moving.”

Rosenberg says some of the stars who would be affected by the legislation include Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, Comedian Bill Cosby – who lives part-time in western Massachusetts, and younger celebrities like Mark Whalberg and Matt Damon. 

The bill passed the senate on a voice vote this week, and now heads to the house. Rosenberg says he’s optimistic that the bill will pass during the informal session. If the bill passes, Massachusetts would become the sixteenth state in the country with a right to publicity law.