From this week's Stranger:

Dept. of Humility: Sherman Alexie, who writes for the New Yorker and also contributes to this newspaper, will not accept an honorary PhD from the University of Washington when he delivers the keynote address this year. It would be an insult to those "who work their asses off" for doctorate degrees, he says. "I don't feel like I've earned it."

The humble Shermal Alexie had no problem accepting a degree from Washington State University, despite the degree being awarded though a waiver exempting Alexie from having to earn his final credits.

A little perspective on the humber Mr. Alexie: Sherm was awarded a BA from Washington State University, despite being 3 credits short of requirements. He justified dropping out at the the time by saying he didn't want to take "the white man's history class," which, ironically, would have been taught by a black woman (I suspect the real reason was that his two-book contract with Atlantic Press made finishing his degree at a land grant college seem a little superfluous, a reaosn that would be entirely to his credit). After receiving the waiver, he now tells people he graduated. Which is just sad. I actually earned my degree at WSU, and I don't brag about it. It's a state school. In Washington state, it's not even a decent second choice. This is a school whose most well-known, respected professor remains the late Grover Krantz, an expert on Bigfoot.