By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Sep 24, 2015 at 5:56 PM

The idea of Bill Cosby speaking and sharing wisdom to a crowd full of young impressionable minds ready to head out into the world and their smiling family members seems unthinkable now. But back in 2013, before anyone really knew the reality and the horrific scale of Cosby's accused crimes, that's exactly what happened at Marquette University's graduation ceremony.

I was one of the hundreds of graduates in the crowd that day, and as his accused crimes and his dismissive responses grew in number, his presence became an odd shadow upon an overall celebratory memory. Speaking with my fellow graduates over the years, we weren't upset about Marquette's choice – how could you; it's not like anyone really knew of his accused misdeeds.

We just thought it was bizarre, a kind of, "Isn't it crazy that THAT guy spoke at one of the biggest events in our lives?" No one expects their graduation speaker to dispense any massively revelatory info or advice, but no one expects him or her to end up being a forever tainted criminal in the public eye either. 

Today, Marquette attempted to undo that now in retrospect squirmy choice.

This afternoon, in an emailed message from MU President Michael Lovell and Provost Daniel Myers, Marquette University announced that it decided to rescind Cosby's honorary degree he received in 2013. 

"As the president and provost of Marquette University, we are writing to inform you that earlier today, we presented a resolution to the Board of Trustees to rescind the honorary degree granted to Bill Cosby in 2013," the email states. "The Board approved that resolution, and the degree is rescinded immediately. Over the past several weeks, we’ve had extensive conversations with campus leaders and faculty members who showed overwhelming support for the action our board took today.

"By his own admission, Mr. Cosby engaged in behaviors that go entirely against our university’s mission and the Guiding Values we have worked so hard to instill on our campus."

So what does this actually mean? Much like Cosby's words that day, nothing. For Marquette, it was likely a wise choice to distance itself from the now tarnished comedian and once beloved public figure – though, with the story dying somewhat down, the timing of dredging up this memory is peculiar. For them, however, their honor to a now dishonorable man is off the record. 

As for everyone else, it's an odd bit of revisionist history. Back then, Cosby was still beloved, was still a huge get for Marquette as a speaker and was still someone to listen and glean wisdom from. To pretend that Cosby didn't exist, to pretend that sentiment wasn't real, seems like some weird ret-conning of history. You can rescind his diploma, but you can't rescind the memories. You can't rescind the past. You can't pretend Cosby wasn't truly a father figure to generations of people before we realized he was also a reprehensible monster – who, it goes without saying, inflicted far, far, FAR more ugly memories than the ones my classmates and I have from graduation. 

So what do you do? It's a question I find myself wrestling with a lot as we learn more and more unpleasant truths and realities about people and institutions we might hold dear – whether it's football or Woody Allen or Chic-fil-a or any number of things. How do we reconcile the person from their profession, the past with the present?

One of the most common pieces of advice shared on graduation is that you don't have all the answers – and likely never will. Today is one of those days where that couldn't be more true. 

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.