Dozens of graduates and college at Taylor University in Indiana walked out on Saturday’s ceremony gorgeous sooner than Vice President Mike Pence took the stage to speak a commencement take care of.
The tell came after students and college at the Christian liberal arts college of about 2,500 debated whether or no longer the presence of the reveal’s ex-governor would be acceptable, The Indianapolis Celebrity reported. His invitation to the university had elicited blended response from students, college and alumni.
A lot of the college’s 494 graduates remained of their seats for his speech.
TAYLOR UNIVERSITY STUDENT STARTS ‘I LIKE MIKE’ CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF PENCE
Graduate Laura Rathburn acknowledged she became once disillusioned the college had alive to Pence in Saturday’s ceremony. She immediate the paper she deliberate to toddle out in tell and embellished her cap in rainbow colours with a message: “Ally Considered For These Who Can’t Be.”
“I believed it became once a terribly injurious resolution. I mediate his presence makes it complicated for each person at Taylor to in actual fact feel welcomed,” she immediate the paper sooner than the ceremony.
Completely different graduates and college in the college’s social work department wore stickers that read: “We’re Taylor too” in tell of Pence’s presence.
Vice President Mike Pence delivers the commencement take care of at Taylor University in Upland, Ind., on Saturday.
(Twitter / Mike Pence )
“I knew it became once going to be rough resulting from he’s the sort of worthy political figure and this administration’s made some very unpopular and typically, love, unhealthy resolution for folk,” graduate Jennifer Nelson immediate The Celebrity. “Now we own students from all around the set the field and love even students who had been impacted by some of this administration — no longer gorgeous the presidency nonetheless by Pence when he became once governor here.”
Pence has reach beneath for comments and insurance policies that critics allege discriminate against the LGBTQ community. And the administration has made one among its signature factors a more challenging stance on immigration, particularly across the southern border with Mexico.
Several Exchange.org petitions gathered hundreds of signatures asking the university to disinvite Pence. Completely different petitions supported the college’s resolution.
“For me for my allotment, I mediate we must mute name as Christians first sooner than now we own political ties,” graduate Katie Tupper acknowledged.” That could possibly perhaps also no longer be an field for each person nonetheless I mediate that we fight plenty at Taylor in attempting to no longer elevate our political opinions. … The rationale for this is acknowledge that we’re all a allotment of Taylor.”
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Some critics immediate the paper they weren’t against Pence talking at the college beneath utterly different circumstances.
In 2017, dozens of students walked out sooner than Pence spoke at a University of Notre Dame graduation ceremony. He most these days warned graduating seniors at Liberty University in Virginia to be ready for persecution from what he described as the “secular left.”
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