Why won’t Penn punish rapist Bill Cosby?

Penn officials are refusing to sever ties with disgraced comedian Bill Cosby, despite four universities stripping him of his honorary degree.

This week Brown joined three other schools in rescinding Cosby’s award, calling his conduct “troubling”.

Penn gave Cosby an LL.B in 1990, but when The Tab asked if the university has plans to follow suit, a spokesman said there is “nothing to offer” at present.

And we can also reveal Cosby’s name was being used to promote the university as recently as Spring 2015, a year after fresh allegations of rape were made against the comic.

A “cheat sheet” used by Penn tour guides lists Cosby as a notable speaker to mention to students considering applying to the school.

Speaking anonymously, one tour guide told The Tab: “I remember on my first tour mentioning Bill Cosby because he came to speak here recently.

“One of the prospective students promptly told me that if Cosby is the kind of speaker we invite to Penn then maybe Penn isn’t right for her. I didn’t make that mistake again.”

The Tab contacted the Kite and Key society – which run the tours – three hours before publication about the brochure, but we have not yet received a response.

It is difficult nowadays to associate Cosby’s name with much other than the piling allegations of sexual assault against him.

Last year, Penn Athletics confirmed there were “no official relations” between them and Cosby, after questions were raised as to his presence and performances at various campus events.

Although he was paid for his performances, Penn Director of Athletic Communications Mike Mahoney confirmed Cosby was not serving in any official capacity.

At this time, he had already resigned from Temple’s school Board of Trustees and had ties severed with the University of Massachusetts.

While the state of Cosby’s current affiliation with the university is unclear, history shows he had a strong relationship with the school in the past.

Cosby, an avid sports enthusiast, frequented the Penn Relays and even rocked Penn swag to the American Comedy awards in April 2014, shortly after the rape allegations emerged that February.

Back in May 1997, Cosby was even held in high enough esteem to deliver Penn’s 241st commencement address.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEGm0Ka2lys]

Most recently in this decade-old scandal, several universities have come forward over the past week rescinding Cosby’s honorary degrees.

These include Brown, Fordham, Marquette, and the University of San Francisco.

Brown President Christina Paxson said in an open letter: “The conduct that Mr. Cosby has acknowledged is wholly inconsistent with the behavior we expect of any individual associated with Brown.

“It is particularly troubling as our university community continues to confront the very real challenges of sexual violence on our campus and in society at large.”

Fordham’s statement read more explicitly, saying his conduct “hurt not only his victims, but all women, and is beyond the pale”.

Although the intrinsic value of honorary degrees is questionable (Kermit the Frog has one), the University’s association with Cosby remains a contentious and persistent issue.

As more colleges continue to strip him of his honorary degrees – and with sexual assault an ever-pressing focus for universities nationwide – the question is now what will Penn do.