In Protest, Students Walk Out on Mike Pence’s Notre Dame Commencement Speech
For Religion News Service, Laken Litman reports, “When Mike Pence took the stage at Notre Dame’s commencement on Sunday, more than 100 students quietly got up from their seats and left.” A student organization called WeStaNDFor planned the protest in response to Pence’s policy positions, among them his opposition to gay rights and opposition to sanctuary cities that refuse to enforce federal immigration laws. Litman writes of valedictorian C.J. Pine’s speech, which occurred shortly before the walkout, “Standing feet away from Pence, he told anecdotes of experiences with Syrian refugees, called for freedom of religion and equal rights.”