Suck it up, buttercups as you prepare to enter the real world.
Via Campus Reform:
University of Notre Dame students have begun a “#NotMyCommencementSpeaker” white board campaign to protest the invitation of Vice President Mike Pence to speak at Commencement.
Last week, seniors Immane Mondane and Jourdyhn Williams invited students to take photos holding white boards with “direct quotes from Pence that are racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, offensive, or ostracizing to members of our community,” along with the hashtag “#NotMyCommencementSpeaker.”
Alternatively, students could also write about why they “feel unsafe with the presence of Mike Pence on our campus,” with daily opportunities to have photos taken with their whiteboards through the week.
Once all the photos have been compiled, the organizers plan to share them on social media in hopes of starting a “discussion” about Pence’s invitation.
“For me personally, [Pence] represents the larger Trump administration,” Mondane told The Observer. “His administration represents something, and for many people on our campus, it makes them feel unsafe to have someone who openly is offensive but also demeaning of their humanity and of their life and of their identity.”
While the photos do not appear to have been posted yet, Mondane provided The Observer with several examples of the complaints that students shared.
One student used a quote from Pence favoring traditional marriage, writing on their board, “‘Congress should oppose any effort to put gay and lesbian relationships on an equal status with heterosexual marriage’ -Pence #NotMyCommencementSpeaker.”
Another read, “Because I am the daughter of Immigrants Family [sic] of LGBTQ folks.”