Several students and faculty refused to shake hands with West Virginia University President Mike Garrison during commencement ceremonies this weekend as a silent protest over the Heather Bresch scandal.

Garrison is facing calls to resign from faculty members, students and some donors. He was scheduled to speak at commencement this weekend, but changed his mind because of the controversy.

At least two students and three faculty members declined to shake Garrison's hand during an honors convocation at the WVU Coliseum on Friday evening.

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West Virginia University honors students file toward their seats at the start of the honors convocation in the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown Friday evening.

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He politely declined Garrison's outstretched hand. He says he didn't make his decision lightly.

"I was really hesitant at first, because commencement is a sacred ceremony," he said. "But I also realized I wouldn't get another chance to represent the students.

"He's turned his back to the faculty repeatedly, and I felt it was time for a student to turn his back on him."

Lauren Dembeck, an honors student from Wallace, had the words "I earned this degree: Garrison must resign" on her mortarboard as she approached Garrison.

"I told him, 'I can't shake your hand,'" Dembeck said after the ceremony. "He congratulated me anyway."

But not all students opposed Garrison. Josh Austin of Grafton said he respected the fact that Garrison attended Friday's ceremony.

"It shows character that he was at this event," he said.

History professor Elizabeth Fones-Wolf of Morgantown declined to shake Garrison's hand when she accepted the Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award.

Several students and faculty refused to shake hands with West Virginia University President Mike Garrison during commencement ceremonies this weekend as a silent protest over the Heather Bresch scandal.

Garrison is facing calls to resign from faculty members, students and some donors. He was scheduled to speak at commencement this weekend, but changed his mind because of the controversy.

At least two students and three faculty members declined to shake Garrison's hand during an honors convocation at the WVU Coliseum on Friday evening.

Chad S. Wilcox, an honors graduate from Wheeling, had the words "Garrison Must Go" printed on top of his gold mortarboard as he crossed the stage.

He politely declined Garrison's outstretched hand. He says he didn't make his decision lightly.

"I was really hesitant at first, because commencement is a sacred ceremony," he said. "But I also realized I wouldn't get another chance to represent the students.

"He's turned his back to the faculty repeatedly, and I felt it was time for a student to turn his back on him."

Lauren Dembeck, an honors student from Wallace, had the words "I earned this degree: Garrison must resign" on her mortarboard as she approached Garrison.

"I told him, 'I can't shake your hand,'" Dembeck said after the ceremony. "He congratulated me anyway."

But not all students opposed Garrison. Josh Austin of Grafton said he respected the fact that Garrison attended Friday's ceremony.

"It shows character that he was at this event," he said.

History professor Elizabeth Fones-Wolf of Morgantown declined to shake Garrison's hand when she accepted the Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award.

"I think that President Garrison is really insulated and perhaps does not have a sense how widespread the feelings are that he should step down," she said. "I wanted to politely send him a message that the University's reputation is being damaged, nationally and internationally."

Robert Maxon has taught history at WVU for 39 years and received the Benedum Outstanding Teaching Award Friday night. Maxon said he declined to shake Garrison's hand for his students.

"I've tried to give them guidance on what their career path should be, and when they work hard and apply for jobs, they should be able to get them based their credentials and achievements," he said.

Laura Brady said it was difficult to decline Garrison's hand, but necessary. Brady received the Council for Advancement and Support of Education award Friday.

"I felt it was not consistent to accept an honor from him, when he did not confer honor upon our university," Brady said.

Faculty have assembled twice in the last two weeks to call for Garrison to resign over the scandal involving Bresch, who is an executive at Mylan Pharmaceuticals and the daughter of Gov. Joe Manchin.

Garrison has repeatedly stated that he plans to stay on the job.

Last month, an independent panel said Garrison's aides and business school leaders were wrong to award Bresch a master's degree in business retroactively that she did not earn.

The panel said she did not register or pay for some of her classes, and WVU officials added grades to her transcript that were "simply pulled from thin air."

Also, the head of a law firm that wants to sue the university over the Bresch scandal released a statement Saturday defending his actions.

Freeman & Chiartas of Charleston is pursuing a potential class-action suit against the WVU Board of Governors. They say the scandal has decreased the value of a WVU degree.

Gregory Chiartas said he would donate his fee to the University, if the WVU Board of Governors removed Garrison from office.