Graduates walk out on Pence

NEW YORK: Dozens of students walked out of Notre Dame University’s commencement exercise yesterday to protest a speech by US Vice President Mike Pence, who warned graduates of the Catholic school against suppressing free speech.

The protesters, among the thousands of graduates and guests assembled in the university’s football stadium, stood up when the conservative Republican began his speech and streamed out of the ceremony.

In his speech at the Indiana school, Pence addressed the controversy of what constituted free speech on campus.

Organisers of the Notre Dame protest said they wanted to voice their objections to policies advocated by Pence as part of the Trump administration and while he was governor, including a proposal to suspend immigration from some Muslim-majority countries that has so far been blocked in courts. – Reuters