Large group of students just walked out of Notre Dame's commencement during VP Mike Pence's address

[kpete]

Last edited Sun May 21, 2017, 08:01 PM - Edit history (5)

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Dozens of Notre Dame Students Walk Out of VP Mike Pence Commencement Speech

Dozens of students at the University of Notre Dame walked out of their commencement ceremony Sunday when Vice President Mike Pence took the stage — in protest of the administration and policies he represents.

Some members of the larger crowd cheered the walk-outs on, while others booed the students who marched out of gates 27 and 28 of Notre Dame Stadium during the school's 172nd commencement. The walk-out came before the students received their degrees, and they were not allowed back in, officials said.

The move was not totally unexpected, since the student organization WeStaNDFor had shared their plans ahead of time. They believe that the politics Pence, the former Indiana governor who was raised Catholic, represented contradicted the Catholic social virtues Notre Dame extols.


MORE:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/dozens-notre-dame-students-walk-out-pence-commencement-speech-n762681?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma



UPDATED TO ADD:

Link to tweet

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[dalton99a]

1. Excellent.

[trueblue2007]

57. i would have walked out

[oasis]

2. RESIST

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

24. Easy to resist when you leave

with a diploma from Notre Dame that costs $180,000 (just tuition).

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. What is your point, should they not have?

[oasis]

34. They saw an opportunity to act against Trump's administation

and took it. I applaud the public demonstration they took part in TODAY, no matter what their future endeavors may be, or their socio-economic status.

[Eyeball_Kid]

49. Every one of them: proud and patriotic.

[iluvtennis]

58. Ding, ding, ding - agree

[TeamPooka]

37. Thanks for the negativity.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

66. What goes around comes around, I'm afraid

If this becomes the new norm, will conservatives walk out when liberals speak at graduation?

Did they really think a Catholic University might never have a conservative speak?

The better decision would have been to never attend Notre Dame. I can't imagine sending my kids there.

[irisblue]

71. Do you recall the hecklers & protesters when Pres.Obama spoke @ ND in 2009?

The RW was & has already done that.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

73. And that was disgusting.

I fear we will be seeing far more of this from both sides in the future.

Imo, politicians simply should not be invited to speak at graduations.

[WinkyDink]

75. Your imagination is not the standard for all, now is it? One might ask why do you live in TEXAS??

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

77. Because I like where I live.

We could afford to raise a family here. We have family here.


Besides, I live in one of the most diverse counties in the country. This particular county is a great place for kids to grow up.

[JI7]

86. they can do whatever the fuck they want. OBama WAS treated by SHit for being BLack

you act like the right was just fine and respectful when it came to OBama.

[MineralMan]

45. And, what would you have them do, ma'am?

Pray tell.

[LakeArenal]

46. Even more reason to walk out.

Many will be paying that "tuition" for the rest of their life.

[Doreen]

52. Not all people who have money are for trump.

I know people who have money and they can not stand trump and voted for Hillary. They are very concerned about what is being done to the poor and middle class and doing what they can to help correct it.

[berksdem]

69. And who cares?

Not sure what your post is insinuating but kudos to those that took a stand and sent a message.

[Lithos]

70. It's all the better they do...

How can you condone a man whose political nature and personal bent are almost uniformly opposite what you are taught at a University? Shows they did get a good education there and understood what this man stands for (and against)

L-

[WinkyDink]

74. Ever hear of scholarships and financial aid?

[SunSeeker]

85. No, I'm sure it wasn't easy for them.

As the article says, to walk out on Pence they had to walk out before the diplomas were handed out.

As others noted in this thread, sacrificing the long-awaited moment of walking across the stage to receive the diploma to stand for principles was admirable indeed.

[ehrnst]

93. What is your point? What do you think they should have done? Sat there? (nt)

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

97. Yes. Out of respect for their fellow students.

NOT Pence, and not even "respect" for the office of the vice president.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime ceremony for most of those students, and their accomplishments should have been front and center - not the walkout.

They could have protested with signs outside before or after, and made their point.

[ehrnst]

98. Did their fellow grads complain? I haven't seen any reports of that.

Please share if you have.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

99. Really?

So, if Pence is invited to a high-profile wedding, are guests supposed to protest there, as well?

How about a little civility? This was a once-in-a-lifetime ceremony!

Personally, I don't support any politicians speaking at graduation, since you're bound to piss off a good portion of those in attendance regardless of who's invited.

[ehrnst]

100. So, have other grads stated that they were put out or not?

Your avoidance of the question pretty much answered it, though.

I sat through graduations in the blazing heat, and listened to awful speeches.

Other people got up and left. I considered it.

No, graduations aren't weddings.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

102. How many were interviewed

by media?

[ehrnst]

103. You tell me. I'm sure that the media would have been happy to talk to one of the

many who were taking video of the walkout.

You seem to have taken this very personally. Why?

[leftynyc]

94. Uh - no

I watched my niece graduate from college yesterday - we were there to hear her name called, watch her walk across that stage and get the diploma she worked hard for. These kids gave up that moment to send a message. I guarantee it was much harder than whining on a message board about the tuition at Notre Dame.

[yuiyoshida]

53. #Resist!

[Sugar Smack]

3. That was beautiful to behold.

Thanks for showing us the clip.

[Eliot Rosewater]

28. Agreed, and I am disappointed in those who didnt leave.

[Sugar Smack]

35. Me too. The ONLY thing that gets real attention is a spectacle.

The shitstorm coming at us all from the WH corners the market on spectacle.

[DURHAM D]

4. I am giving those students a standing ovation.

Hard to clap and type at the same time.

[crazylikafox]

5. Notre Dame is in Indiana. They know him well.

[alterfurz]

9. In Indiana, he is known as "Mike Dense" for good reasons

[benld74]

48. He messed Indiana all too well

[underpants]

6. Excellent

Rec'd

[bresue]

7. DO YOU THINK PENCE IS TOO DENSE TO UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WALKED OUT?

I just don't believe he gets the 'why' of their objections! And furthermore, is it intended to embarrass him? Not likely, he has lost all pride standing up with Dump!

[Thinkingabout]

8. Excellent, know a young man graduating at this time, probably did not walk out if he

is following his parents example but at least there are many who does not like Pence. Never give up showing our disapproval of people like Pence.

[Tanuki]

10. Thanks! That brought tears to my eyes. Sacrificing the long-awaited

moment of walking across the stage to receive the diploma to stand for principles was admirable indeed.

[LoveMyCali]

16. I know

I feel bad for these poor kids who worked so hard for four years to have some d-bag like Pence or DeVos ruin their celebration.

[barbtries]

26. me too

made me cry.

[Doodley]

11. They needed to hold up signs or something.

[Grammy23]

14. Since they walked out as he began his speech...

It was probably pretty obvious why they were walking out as a group. Plus, it was publicized that they were going to do that, so I am pretty sure everyone got it. Good for them! It was a big day for them so the sacrifice was noted and spoke loudly of how they felt about Pence.

[Amaryllis]

61. enough of them were wearing rainbow stuff that it was pretty obvious why.

[SunSeeker]

84. They probaby weren't allowed in the stadium with signs.

The last graduation I attended no one was allowed to bring signs.

[ucrdem]

12. Ouch.

Hometown hero takes a hit.

[Fritz Walter]

13. More like "Hometown ZERO"!

The smart Hoosiers despise him.

[onetexan]

32. well said!!

I'd leave as well, probably cancel attending the commencement altogether. We just had 2 of our kids graduate from UT and A&M here in Tx, and we had no interruptions thankfully, given the speakers were decent people.

[TNNurse]

15. I so admire them.

They have been living in Indiana while he was governor and know what he really is.

[avebury]

17. I don't know if the students had already received their diploma, but if they hadn't -

once they do they should contact the Notre Dame Alumni Office and tell them to remove their names from any alumni fund raising lists. They paid a lot of money to receive their education and they should not pay one penny more to an institution that invited Pence (or Trump or anybody else in the Trump administration) to give a commencement speech.

[murielm99]

59. That will do it every time.

If you threaten to withhold donations, they listen.

Not all of these grads are rich. Some will have very heavy student loan debt.

[classykaren]

18. Do you see the girl near the end giving him the finger as she walked out?

[lastlib]

21. (not seeing it...) eom

[demmiblue]

19. Damn, these young adults have moxie!

First the Bethune-Cookman University commencement where students turned their backs on DeVos, now this.

[DK504]

20. So proud of those kids!

Kids is learning!!!! Who says there are no institutions of higher learning left in America???? Not me!!!!

[onecent]

22. I was born and raised in 100 miles N. of Indianapolis....I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[workinclasszero]

23. RESIST!!!!

[StarryNite]

25. I love this!!!

[Hoyt]

29. Excellent. But a much larger group remained. We need to work on that.

[benpollard]

42. According to Trump, it was the largest audience in history

1-1/2 million people to be exact!

[Hoyt]

44. No joke. Our Prez is a narcissistic carnival barker.

[Phoenix61]

30. WooHoo!!!

This is awesome! So proud for them. It's great to see our young people politically engaged.

[FairWinds]

31. I used to take students from our small college in Ohio ..

to a conference at ND's Kroc Institute.

The ND students could not have been more warm and
welcoming . .

Way to go, young 'uns !!

[Initech]

33. Please tell me they started humming the national anthem!

[Guilded Lilly]

36. Wow. I'm smiling through proud tears. Hope Walking. RESIST.

[oswaldactedalone]

38. Well done

Young people. Bravo!!

[mountain grammy]

39. Good for them.

No knows Pence better than Indiana.

[benpollard]

40. That's something they can now be proud of

College is a lot of work with delayed reward, so that took a lot of courage for those students to walk out on the commencement speech. Now, instead of the memory of having sat through the speech of someone responsible for causing destruction and suffering in America, they can now remember having done something to show their disdain.

Hopefully, they'll continue to fight against fascism.

[J_William_Ryan]

41. It was appropriate for the students to walk-out on Pence,

someone hostile to the Framers’ mandate that church and state remain separate, someone hostile to the privacy rights of women, and someone hostile to the protected liberties of gay and transgender Americans.

[yurbud]

43. kick

[malaise]

47. Saw a few of them on TV this morning explaining their reasons

Most excellent

[Marthe48]

50. Good on the protestors!

They will prosper in their lives. They are already awake and aware.

[skylucy]

51. Good for them. They have given me hope.

[Doreen]

54. Maybe one of those wonderful students will be a future president.

That would be a good selling point for something they did in support of their country.

[LiberalLovinLug]

55. Why do universities even invite standing politicians to address their students like this?

Especially in such a divided country.

Aren't there a plethora of outstanding respected prominent citizens and speakers out there to invite?

[WinkyDink]

76. Come now. He's from Indiana, and he's the Vice-President.

[SunSeeker]

87. And a controversial, traitorous asshat with nothing of value to say to these students.

His title does not change that reality. It was the students' day. The college should have picked a speaker that most of the students approvef of. These students deserved better. We all deserve better.

[LittleGirl]

56. Those students

are great. I worked at ND for 4 yrs and saw nothing but the best of humans.

The ND students are smart (well if you don't count the football program) and work hard. The campus is a beauty with 150+ yr old buildings and basilica.

Most students come from out east or out west and the few locals are children of working Admins of ND. Or children of Alumni. The endowment was 1 billion last I heard.

Anyway, for Indiana in General, he's also called Pency-poo because of his degrading of women and their right to choose what to do with their own body. He went to Hanover I believe. Fundamental Christian University, ugh. Notre Dame is catholic but you don't have to be to go there. Lots of foreign students getting their masters there. LAW, Business, Medical...impressive Arts.

My home town makes me embarrassed and proud all of the time. It's a roller coaster.

South Bend/Notre Dame is democratic and has a great Mayor now. Ran for DNC chair. Surrounded by deep red districts. And Gary Indiana is only about 40 miles away, Chicago 80 miles.

[NastyRiffraff]

60. Thanks to those students

They did it exactly right. They didn't grandstand or make a big deal of it, just let the image of their exit make a powerful statement.

Well done!

[uppityperson]

62. Here's another video from higher up

Link to tweet

[rug]

82. Here's their reception outside

[SunSeeker]

90. Very cool. So proud of them. nt

[tblue37]

63. Schools should not ruin students' proud moment by inviting commencement speakers offensive to half

Last edited Sun May 21, 2017, 04:40 PM - Edit history (1)

of their graduating class. The ceremony is for students and their families and should not be coopted by politicians or pundits looking for another stage to perform on so they can get more publicity.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

67. I agree. I wouldn't want to see students

walking out on President Obama.

This business of having notable political leaders speak at graduation should be put to rest. We are not a civilized society, anymore.

[7962]

80. Seems you're one of the few who sees it that way.

I remember any protest like this against Pres Obama or the 1st lady was called out here, and rightly so. The OFFICE should be respected or we are no different than the countries we see where their "congress" are throwing chairs and punches.
Now if Pence started to give a political speech, i may see it differently. But if he;s there giving the standard grad-type speech that you would hope to hear, he should be allowed to.
I didnt hear the speech so I have no idea what he said.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

81. Well, the students who walked out

apparently have no idea of what he said, either.

[7962]

83. Excellent!! And of course, correct! nt

[SunSeeker]

89. They know what Pence has said and done up to now.

That is why they walked out. Unless he came to apologize for his gay therapy scam, Russia collusion and helping Trump strip the social safety net and public education, what difference does whatever boilerplate speech he gives make?

[7962]

92. Turns out it was a speech about freedom of speech; something they cant handle.

They're in for a rude awakening when they get out into the "real world". Wonder what kind of degrees they were toting as they walked out
I'm glad it was only a few students who displayed such rudeness. I would bet that there were MANY in the crowd who didnt like Pence, but were polite enough to stay seated in respect to the office, not the officeholder.
I remember most of my friends who did not like Pres Obama also thought Joe Wilson was an idiot for acting the way he did during the State of the Union speech. Of course there were a couple who thought it funny.
Just because there are a couple goofballs in office now doesnt mean its now fine to disrespect the office.

[SunSeeker]

96. No, what they can't handle are fascists in the White House.

Last edited Mon May 22, 2017, 11:47 AM - Edit history (1)

Them walking out was a form of expression as well and they had a right to do it. It is Pense who can't handle freedom of speech, pushing through the global gag rule on abortion providers that Trump signed that will result in the needless deaths of poor women all over the world.

Equating Pence to Obama is ridiculous. Them silently walking out, which did not violate any rules nor interrupt Pence, is not equivalent to Joe Wilson shouting out "You Lie!" (itself a lie, since Obama was correctly stating the ACA does not cover undocumented immigrants) which did interrupt Obama's State of the Union speech before the whole nation, and violated Congressional decorum rules.

This was the students' celebration. They were not at work. Pence was not performing a governmental function or giving a message the public needed to hear like a State of the Union Speech. This was a private function. They should have been given a speaker they wanted, not some asshole who is about to destroy their future.

[Alice11111]

91. !!!

[demigoddess]

68. I agree also. This is a really bad custom. More like authors, educators, movie stars,

but not politicians.

[treestar]

78. Absolutely

They had to know likely more than half the students would not want this even some who did not walkout could be cringing

[SunSeeker]

88. Well said.

[greytdemocrat]

64. Childess

But if it makes them feel good more power
to them.

[Hulk]

65. Bravo! Proud of them

I would hope those that stayed challenged this fucking hypocrite on his lies and bull shit.

[Cha]

72. Good! I knew that was coming!

[appleannie1943]

79. Some walked out yesterday at Grove City College. That surprised me because

Grove City is an independent, conservative, "Christian" college that does not take a dime from the feds.
They still have guarded male dorms and guarded female dorms. If a student gets cited for anything, even something like toilet papering something on Halloween, by the police, they are expelled from the school. When I worked at the PD, a senior was expelled for Criminal Mischief, for something silly that he received a fine for by the police, 6 weeks before his graduation. So it took a lot of courage on their part.

[muntrv]

95. Good. Conservatives thought it was cute when Notre Dame students protested Obama in 2009.

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

101. And they protested "outside"

The protesters respected their fellow graduates and didn't create drama at the commencement ceremony.

The point is respect for your fellow graduates - not respect or disrespect for the speaker!