Vice President Mike Pence's keynote speech at the University of Notre Dame's graduation ceremony didn't commence without controversy on Sunday, May 21. Just as the former Indiana governor took the stage to speak, a mass of students rose from the sea of caps and gowns and began filing in the opposite direction of the stage in protest.
The walk-out was assisted by scattered boos resounding from the audience's applause. Delivering the Notre Dame address has been a tradition passed along through six presidencies. Due to students successfully petitioning that Trump not be invited, however, Pence was brought on board to fill his place. Such would typically be an ideal scenario, seeing how the school operates in the state Pence legislated over throughout his 16 years in politics, but his own conservative record was enough to raise opposition to his presence at the ceremony.
In a statement put out by organizers of the protest, the VP is criticized for "targeting the civil rights protections of members of LBGT+ community," and for having "rejected the Syrian refugee resettlement program, supported an unconstitutional ban of religious minorities, and fought against sanctuary cities."
Source: cnn.com
