This morning on the news I watched a story about the student body at the University of Notre Dame They are protesting against scheduled appearance by Vice President Mike Pence, claiming that his prescence makes them feel "unsafe". Perhaps the fight song should be changed to the "Barney" theme?
Let's put this in perspective lest my friend George's post gives the wrong impression of what's happening, at least as far as I have read. It is customary that ND invites the new president to speak at the first graduation following his inauguration. Notre Dame always has been a conservative-leaning campus both because of its Catholicism and because of the students who attend, predominantly Catholic, white, upper middle class. When Obama was invited to speak in 2009, the protests were loud and far reaching, with most of the noise coming from outside the university. He came, he spoke, and the ceremony went very well. It's my understanding that the administration chose not to invite Trump and instead invited Mike Pence. This is the first time in my memory that a sitting president was not invited. I've seen no evidence of widespread protest. The only person I've seen quoted is a female Hispanic student who is a lesbian who doesn't "feel safe". Other than NBC affiliates in different cities, the only media I've seen reporting the situation are the decidedly conservative outlets. It's no surprise in this fractured society that there would be not be complete agreement on or 100% respect shown to a speaker from the left or right. Notre Dame is no exception. A college campus is an amalgam of thought, opinion, and points of view. Protest is inevitable in an environment where free speech is allowed to flourish. I was involved in one back in 1964, a story for another time. The point is, it serves no purpose to denigrate the entire university for the actions of a relative few. I certainly hope this puts an unnecessary topic to rest.
This is really a non story and I agree with Sid. I wonder if an invitation was extended to the President and declined. I hope that there is a statement by the administration supporting diversity in political and philosophical thought. After all if the University can bestow an honorary degree on a staunch pro choice politician they can certainly welcome a pro-life one.
I find it interesting that a Catholic university will invite Barack Obama who was clearly pro choice but not Donald Trump who is clearly the opposite. And that the students feel unsafe around Mike Pence who is their governor, clearly a Christian gentlemen in every way and pro life. Kind of flies in the face of the mission statement.
Fractured society definitely, political statement being made, ahhh yeah!!! Any idea what the mission statement even is at this point, not a chance... I don't feel the sweet naivety here, especially as a father whose son just graduated from college.
George, you say "the students" as if it's the entire student body. Even if it's 50, 100, 500 students, it represents a very small fraction of the entire student body. Being familiar with the makeup of the student body, I can assure you that it's a small minority. The mission statement? Do you even know what the mission statement is? Again, you're using a tone that says you don't respect the administration. Thousands and thousands of conservatives, Catholic and otherwise, questioned the invitation to Barack Obama in 2009. I'm not a conservative, but as a pro-life Catholic I questioned it. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and instead of celebrating your kind of guy, you're upset that some students are protesting? C'mon man. THAT'S the real world we live in. THAT'S the fractured society to which I was referring. The student body is just a microcosm of the whole, and a sheltered microcosm to be sure. Why get upset about it? Like Gip said, it's a non-story. One more thing. We don't know why Trump isn't coming. It could be his decision or our decision. We may never know. Mike Pence isn't exactly chopped liver. In some places like the state of Indiana, he's more popular than Trump.
For the record, I assumed it was probably a small minority who were "protesting"... it happens on EVERY campus now. Of course when you have the megaphone of the LIBERAL media helping, it can make it seem larger than a few.
Actually, Scott, when I googled the situation, I found that other than several NBC outlets, the dominant reporting was by conservative media outlets like the Washington Times, The Blaze, Breitbart. Fox News, The Federalist, etc., all with a mocking slant toward the students who are "afraid" of Pence. I have to admit that such expression of fear toward a guy like Pence is newsworthy if not taken in context, but who in the media, liberal or conservative, worries about context these days? There is an article in the Washington Post going back to March 3 which affirms that it was Notre Dame's decision not to invite Trump. Here's the link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...e613afeb09f_story.html?utm_term=.5aa545d89f7c George, reading this article helps me to understand why you are upset.
From that article I gleaned that "thousands " didn't want him to come. But.... in Trump vernacular is that a true "thousands" or just a hundred or so. :wink: "Some Notre Dame students, anticipating that the nation’s most prominent Catholic school would ask Trump to do the same, launched a petition in December asking the Notre Dame president, the Rev. John Jenkins, not to do so. They argued that Trump’s words and actions were antithetical to the school’s values and mission. The petition was signed by thousands of Notre Dame students and faculty members, and there have been protests on the campus in South Bend, Ind., including one Monday"
But the school had no problem honoring a fetus flusher. Apparently Trump isn't going to meet with the individual who lives behind walls, has Swiss Guards to protect him and call's Trumps wall "unchristian." http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/panorama/2017-04-11/vatican-102814.php?uuid=AEbu9K3
Sid, there are lot of things reported on "conservative" news outlets that you will never hear on the liberal main stream outlets. But that does not make them untrue. does it? Now if you Google the topic you will find pages of sources reporting the same story. But that is a sidebar to my point here. A liberal arts university student body is basically seeking to stifle free speech. Now if it is "just a few students" as you suggest, then I would expect a statment forthcoming from the administration in South Bend to the effect that the speech will go on. Whether they invited Trump or not we may never know. Universities only want to be seen with his type when they come bearing large endowment checks. If I was spending the kind of money it costs to send a kid to Notre Dame, I would be quite concerned over the traditional values of the school being corrupted by political ideology. From where I sit, it looks like Notre Dame may be going PC in lieu of being RC.
I first commented here because I felt the need to defend my alma mater. In retrospect, it wasn't necessary. I don't like politically-based discussions with people I like and whose beliefs and opinions I respect. which is the case with George. As it turned out, the more I learned about the situation, the more I understood and respected George's feelings about it. For that reason, I'm going to stop commenting on this and other politically based topics and turn my attention back to sports topics, which is common ground for all of us. If in the future anyone catches me commenting on politically based topics, I want you to give me an eslap on the back of my ehand with an eruler, similar to what the nuns did to me many times in elementary school.