From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM
George Mason University students on Tuesday protested the institution’s decision to select Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin as the 2023 commencement speaker.
Aproximately 100 of the 36,000 students enrolled at the university gathered on campus Tuesday to demand Youngkin be replaced as commencement speaker for the ceremony in May. George Mason University president Greg Washington announced last week that the governor would deliver a speech to graduates.
Students were protesting for about two hours on Tuesday, singing, shouting, waving Pride flags and expressing opposition to Youngkin and his policies on transgender issues, according to Fox 5 DC.
The Youngkin administration’s proposals have included prohibiting transgender students from using bathrooms or participating on sports teams that do not correspond with their biological sex.
The protest comes after a petition was launched last week demanding the university not allow Youngkin to attend or speak at the commencement ceremony at EagleBank Arena on May 18. The petition has nearly 7,000 signatures as of Wednesday morning.
“I and my peers do not want the memories of our graduation day to be tainted by an individual who has harmed and continues to harm the people he serves,” senior Alaina Ruffin wrote on the petition.
Ruffin appeared to criticize Youngkin for the proposals on transgender students, as well as bans on critical race theory and sexually explicit books in schools.
“Selecting a speaker that has passed anti-trans legislation, promoted the abolishment of racial equity curricula, and restricted the availability of literature in public schools is an intentional target towards historically marginalized communities comprising Mason,” Ruffin wrote. “It is harmful and disrespectful to the many students who continuously shape GMU’s community to bring in an individual who has also neglected the needs of Virginians.”
Several campus organizations — including the university’s student government, the George Mason Democrats and BLACC Mason — also released statements opposing the decision to invite Youngkin as commencement speaker…. (Read more)
