A SPECIAL REPORT: HONORARY DEGREES

Let Us Commence

Cal State Northridge, whose graduation ceremonies begin May 28, may have to forgo honorary degrees this year. Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel turned down the nomination, saying he doesn’t accept such honors. A couple of others are reportedly in the works at CSUN, which has awarded only two such degrees.

Layaway Plan

CSUN likes its prospective grads to pay $30 in advance for diplomas, programs and the fruit punch reception. But the school’s policy for honorary degrees appears to be more lenient. “I guess we’d let them write an honorary check,” quipped spokesman Bruce Erickson.

History, Please

Honorary degrees--and boasting prestigious commencement speakers--began in 1947, when Gen. George Marshall chose Harvard to unveil his plan for postwar Europe. Comedian Bob Hope, a longtime Valley resident, has some 50 honorary doctorates--but none from CSUN.

Hopeless

Back in the Vietnam era, when CSUN was known as Valley State College, Hope was secretly slated to receive its first honorary degree. But campus doves considered Hope too hawkish, and in the end he turned down the honor out of concern for his safety. “It’s never too late to try again,” said Erickson.