Dozens at Notre Dame walk out on Pence

Some seniors at the University of Notre Dame walked out of their graduation ceremony to protest Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday when he began to deliver the commencement speech.

Pence was chosen to give the commencement address at the nation's most prominent Catholic university, even though the school ordinarily invites newly inaugurated presidents to give the address in their first year of office. Thousands of students and faculty members signed a petition asking Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, not to invite President Donald Trump, and the university chose instead to invite Pence, a former Indiana governor.

A coalition of student activist groups at Notre Dame called We StaND For planned a walkout to protest policies that Pence pursued as governor that they say targeted the most vulnerable. More than 100 students quietly walked out to some brief cheers and boos.

Hundreds of antiabortion activists protested President Barack Obama when he spoke at the 2009 graduation ceremony, and there were smaller protests, too, for Vice President Joe Biden at the 2016 commencement.

On Saturday, Pence delivered the commencement speech at Grove City College, a Christian liberal arts school in Grove City, Pa. Grove City is one of a handful of religious schools that have refused federal funds so they do not have to comply with specific federal mandates, such as Title IX, which bans genderbased discrimination.

The speeches featured strong similarities, even identical language. Pence urged graduating students to become leaders in various walks of life, and he asked them to stand up, “catch the eye” of a loved one in the crowd and thank them for their support through college.