WATCH: Students Walk Out of Mike Pence’s Commencement Speech at Notre Dame

150 Reportedly Left as Pence Began Speaking

Mike Pence delivered a commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame today, but a reported 150 people left the nation’s most prominent Catholic university rather than listen to the vice president, arguably the most anti-LGBT politician in modern history.

“About 150 people, a mix of students and family members, didn’t stay to hear the message,” Indiana’s South Bend Tribune reported. “As they promised earlier in the week, they staged a walk-out as Pence took the stage, quietly lining out of Notre Dame Stadium.”

The University allowed the students to exit, so long as it was done quietly and peacefully.

And while the University of Notre Dame typically invites newly-inaugurated presidents to give the commencement speech during their first year, the Washington Post reported, thousands of students and faculty members signed a petition not to invite Donald Trump. The school chose Pence, Indiana’s former governor, to take his place.

“Even those who disagree with Mike Pence recognize him as a man of principle,” University of Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins said during Pence’s introduction, “…and I am proud to call him a friend.”

As Pence approached the microphone, 150 students and family members clearly did not recognize him as a man of principle, however, choosing to depart the stadium. You can watch a clip of some of the students walking out below:

 

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.