My campus has largely stayed out of the firestorm of free speech zones and censorship, tending to afford students reasonable freedom and conveniently avoiding lawsuits from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). As of late, however, there have been campaigns on campus that reveal an imperfect understanding of due process and how it plays into administrative decisions – like rescinding honorary degrees. Let me explain.

In 1993, Bill Cosby was awarded an honorary degree from the College of William and Mary. Recently, after a myriad of rape allegations that were validated by dozens of women, Bill Cosby has fallen into bad graces — deeply, justifiably bad graces. The College responded to this with minimal tact but solid legal backing, saying that they would not withdraw his honorary degree — “We’ve never rescinded a degree. We don’t intend to,” our Provost said, claiming that the criteria for removal would be very “messy” to get into. Cue the social justice warrior outrage.

In PR terms, the College could’ve explained the situation better. What they should’ve said is that the allegations are not solid enough legal grounds to rescind an honorary degree, and that, furthermore, the honorary degree doesn’t really add any incremental value to Cosby or deeply damage the College’s reputation. Here’s why.

First off, the “symbolic significance” of honorary degrees is already just another way we delude ourselves — the vast majority of us have no idea who has received an honorary degree from William and Mary, and that’s okay, because the majority of us don’t care. In terms of rescinding it, there is a tenuous connection between taking Cosby’s degree away and ensuring a safe environment for rape victims on campus. There are more pressing problems that administrators could, and should, confront. That being said, I understand that acknowledging problems on a campus-wide level often looks and feels better than repressing them, as is clear when parallels are drawn between rescinding the degree and removing Confederate icons from campus (both symbolic moves). But it gets stickier.

I’m not a legal scholar, but I did look into the legal implications of these rape allegations and, much to my dismay, Cosby hasn’t been found guilty through criminal proceedings. Tamara Green’s 2005 allegation was not corroborated and a lack of evidence made the defense attorney unable to move forward in the Constand case (2004), though they did settle out of court for battery and assault charges. Some of the women who’d been sexually assaulted by Cosby accepted money after sexual encounters, making their cases even more challenging to deal with legally.

Yes, it’s disgusting; there’s no other way to describe it. Our legal system is highly flawed when it comes to ensuring that rape victims get the legal recourse they deserve. But that doesn’t mean we should establish lower burdens of proof. Cosby will hopefully be convicted, found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as more cases come to light. Reforms such as abolishing statutes of limitations on sex crimes could also help. But one thing is certain: schools do not need to circumvent our legal system and revoke honorary degrees before guilt is found in a court of law.

It’s true, as a friend of mine rightly pointed out, that due process often works in favor of those with power, disadvantaging rape victims and other marginalized groups. I completely agree, and this is a huge reason why I’m a libertarian. Our legal system is deeply flawed, and I want to change it, adjust it, and work to ensure wealth and fame do not have an bearing on the outcomes of guilt and innocence. But, until we can achieve much-needed reforms, throwing away due process for the accused will only allow for further abuse in the legal system. Symbolic actions in this vein don’t help much; they encourage us to devalue the rule of law in favor of mob justice while simultaneously distracting from real steps to make our campuses safer. To many, this seems like a harsh indictment of symbolic actions that might bring victims greater comfort and peace. Rest assured, however, that I am advocating for far greater systematic change that would bring victims of sexual violence a more just system, one that stops marginalizing victims and minorities, and urging my fellow students to not get caught up in the weeds of symbolic acts that have little bearing on our legal system.

Some have advocated for removing the honorary degree because Cosby has been found guilty in the “court of public opinion” — thankfully, this elusive court holds minimal weight in our current legal system. Let’s hope it stays that way. Despite student sentiments, promoting the use of a high burden of proof should remain important on our college campuses in order to ensure the innocent are not wrongly punished and to make way for substantive efforts to ensure real change within our legal system.

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