As corporate America severs GOP donations, prof ponders cutting off Princeton until it 'revokes' Ted Cruz's degree
Alex Barnard, an associate professor at New York University, tweeted that Princeton University should revoke Sen. Ted Cruz’s Bachelor’s degree due because he objected to the certification of the Electoral College votes.
Barnard told Campus Reform that the post was intended to express that “it is justifiable to be frustrated that Senator Cruz is trying to disenfranchise me based on his own political ambitions.”
New York University Assistant Professor of Sociology Alex Barnard called on Princeton University to rescind Sen. Ted Cruz’s Bachelor’s degree in response to the Texas Republican objecting to the certification of Arizona’s electoral college votes.
Barnard’s comment came just days before multiple U.S. companies said they would no longer financially contribute to campaigns of GOP lawmakers who objected to state’s electoral college votes in the 2020 presidential election, despite the fact that both Democrats and Republicans have done so in past elections. American Express, AT&T, BlueCross BlueShield, Commerce Bank, Dow Chemical, Marriott, and Mastercard are just some of the companies withholding donations to Cruz and other lawmakers who objected.
In his tweet, Barnard wrote that Cruz supported such a measure “not because that makes any sense whatsoever, but because Cruz’s whole political program is symbolic acts of spite.”
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When contacted by Campus Reform, Barnard initially said that he would “respond when I have free time to humor this insane request.”
Later, he told Campus Reform, “Virtually anyone reading this tweet - which received very little attention - would be able to figure out it is a joke. Princeton alums often make various claims for the university to do X by threatening to withhold their $25 / year annual giving contribution. There is no precedent for Princeton revoking degrees, no one seriously thinks they would, I made no effort to make this joke a reality.”
”The appropriate response to Ted Cruz’s attempt to undermine the Democratic process would happen through the courts, Congress, or the voters of his state. I think it is justifiable to be frustrated that Senator Cruz is trying to disenfranchise me based on his own political ambitions, and this post was in that spirit,” Barnard said.
“I am copying the head of my department, just to make it clear that I am not at all concerned about this right-wing trolling attempt or feel I have anything to hide. What I post on my Twitter account in no way represents the views of NYU or the NYU Department of Sociology. Furthermore, it has no influence on the high quality, balanced teaching I provide my students, nor my commitment to rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific research,” he added.
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NYU and Princeton did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Campus Reform in time for publication.
Cruz’s objection to Arizona’s electoral college votes is not unprecedented in American politics. After previous elections, Democrats objected to certain electoral college votes. Cruz’s objection to Arizona’s 11 electoral college votes, even had it been successful, would not have overturned the result of the 2020 presidential election, given that Trump lost to Biden by 74 electoral votes.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Margaret_Beste
