Alumni aren’t proud of Barrett

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett graduated in 1994 with honors from Rhodes College in Memphis. But more than 1,500 alumni of the small liberal arts school have made it known they are not proud of their ties to the conservative lawyer and judge.

Barrett graduated magna cum laude with an undergraduate degree in English. She was a member of the Honor Council and named to the Student Hall of Fame. After her next stop at the University of Notre Dame’s law school, she built a career of “professional distinction and achievement,” Rhodes President Marjorie

Hass said in a statement issued after President Trump nominated Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The statement was dated Sept. 22. Soon after, Rhodes alumni Rob Marus and Katherine Morgan Breslin wrote a letter criticizing Barrett’s stances on abortion law, the LGBTQ community and the Affordable Care Act. Signed by 1,513 alumni and posted online, the letter says the alumni are “firmly and passionately opposed to her nomination,” declaring Barrett fails to represent their views and values.

Barrett’s nomination to replace Ginsburg, a supporter of abortion rights and liberal icon who died Sept. 18, swiftly elicited praise from Republicans and conservatives — and dismay from liberals and Democrats. Opposing sides rained down statements for and against appointing Barrett, currently a federal appeals court judge in Chicago.

Barrett’s abortion views are a particular point of contention. She voted at least twice on abortion issues as an appellate judge, both times joining dissenting opinions to decisions that favored abortion rights.

In a statement in response to the alumni letter, Hass, who heads the 2,000student body, encouraged “all members of the Rhodes community to rise to this moment with courage and to speak, act, and vote in the service of justice.”

Barrett had no public comments on the letter.