I don't believe it - not as in "gasp" but as in I'm calling BS. No way any student takes that degree off their resume and *literally* returns their degree. Maybe they're sending in the "diploma" - the thing in the frame- but no way they are giving up their degree.
right? Especially if their current job position rested on that degree. I think it's more symbolic than literal.
While I'm not surprised NPR would do the story anyway, "some" isn't compelling. In a large enough population, you'll always have outliers.
Ok, this is kinda comical- "For Doug Johnson Hatlem, a 1999 graduate who now works as a Mennonite pastor in Ontario, Canada, Charlottesville feels like a tipping point for many alumni who have been concerned about the university's association with Trump. "It really is a watershed moment to have people openly chanting Nazi chants ... holding white supremacist signs, and carrying weapons along with all of that, and killing somebody, injuring many in the process," he said. "For there not to be an unconditional condemnation of that kind of action and behavior is just completely anathema." Johnson Hatlem said returning diplomas is an important symbolic statement. "I'll have to have my mom dig it out of storage," he said. "But I do plan to send back my diploma to Liberty." Turns out, he's an unemployed "street pastor" still trading on his university's name just last month. https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2013/07/19/fed_homeless_advocate_doug_johnson_hatlem_leaving_toronto.html
I like this part "A small but growing number of Liberty University graduates are preparing to return diplomas to their school." My guess is that this preparation process will last quite a long time . . . "No, not yet. I'm not quite ready yet."