Graduates protest Pence
University of Notre Dame graduates walk out of Notre Dame Stadium in protest as Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the commencement ceremony on Sunday in South Bend, Ind.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Dozens of graduates and family members silently stood and walked out Sunday as Vice President Mike Pence began his address at Notre Dame’s commencement ceremony.
Pence, the former governor of Indiana, was invited to speak after Notre Dame students and faculty protested the prospect of President Donald Trump being invited to become the seventh U.S. president to give the commencement address.
Pence spoke briefly of Trump, praising his speech to the leaders of 50 Arab and Muslim nations earlier in the day in Saudi Arabia. Pence said the president “spoke out against religious persecution of all people of all faiths and on the world stage he condemned, in his words, the murder of innocent Muslims, the oppression of women, the persecution of Jews and the slaughter of Christians.”
Trump has faced criticism for his anti-Islamic rhetoric during the campaign, as well as his administration’s legal battle to impose a travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries.
Cassandra Dimaro and her parents were among those who walked out. Dimaro told the South Bend Tribune that it was a show of solidarity “for those of us impacted by the policies of the Trump administration.”