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A Syracuse University student started an online petition Friday that calls on the university to award Kevin Richardson of the Central Park Five with an honorary degree.

Jalen Nash, a senior political science major, created the petition after Oprah Winfrey’s Netflix interview with the Central Park Five. Richardson told Winfrey he dreamed of playing the trumpet in SU’s band before he was wrongfully arrested in 1989 as a suspect in the rape of Central Park jogger Trisha Meili.  

“I remember, April 18th, being excited to be out of school because it was Easter vacation and also trying to balance my music, playing trumpet,” Richardson told Winfrey. “One of my goals was playing for Syracuse University, but I never reached that.”

Richardson was only 14 years old when he and four boys — Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise — were arrested as suspects in the investigation. All five were later exonerated in 2002 when the actual assailant confessed to the rape while serving time for separate crimes.

The Netflix miniseries “When They See Us,” released last month, has renewed public interest in the trial and convictions and rekindled outrage. The miniseries recounts how the five black and Latino boys, aged between 14 and 16, were viewed as guilty of rape, coerced into giving confessions and aggressively prosecuted despite a lack of substantial physical evidence.

“Watching this project takes me back to about being 14 and being in that humble naive state, and I always wish I could go back to that,” Richardson told Winfrey.

Nash’s petition has more than 1,500 signatures, with a current goal of 2,500. He plans to reach out to university administrators in the coming weeks to discuss the petition. 

“Touting itself as one of the premier universities in the state, SU should use its resources not only to educate its students, but to advocate on behalf of the communities that have enabled their success,” Nash told The Daily Orange.

In the past, SU has skirted around addressing criminal justice issues, such as last year when the Board of Trustees refused to pledge not to invest in for-profit prisons, Nash said.

Nash said awarding Richardson the honorary degree would be to acknowledge “the importance he has in the grand scheme of things, especially to people of color and the poor, who are often in situations like he is.” 

SU’s University Senate must approve candidates for honorary degrees before the Board of Trustees makes the final decision. Honorary degrees are awarded at commencement. Criteria that can qualify a person for an honorary degree include outstanding achievement in a field, humanitarian deeds that affect many people and being an outstanding model for SU graduates.

Published on June 21, 2019 at 9:13 pm

Contact Casey: casey@dailyorange.com | @caseydarnell_