Serpents figure prominently in the mythologies of nearly all human cultures; however, only in Christian religions are they a symbol of evil and temptation. It is perhaps for this reason that snakes often are persecuted and killed without any understanding of their true nature.
via Snakes of New York.
When you attack a religion openly on a university website, perhaps you should be the slightest bit academic when doing your research. Yes, the “serpent” was the tempter in the Garden of Eden story, but, unless the agenda is specifically to attack Christianity, even the most godless of academics can put in one more minute of energy or even thought to remember that Moses placed a serpent on a staff and told the hosts of Israel to look, and all who looked upon it were healed. You’d have to live under a rock to not know that story since Moses’ serpent on the staff is the symbol for medicine in all of Western culture. Silly SUNY anti-Christian bigots.