A group of liberal students at the University of Alabama-Huntsville is not happy with the university’s choice for commencement speaker this spring, but their attempts to force the university to make a change are being rebuffed.
After hearing that U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) had been tapped to deliver the commencement speech at UAH’s graduation ceremony in May, some students submitted a petition asking school officials to replace him.
The petition on Change.org mainly cites Sessions’ conservative policy positions and ties to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump as the students’ reasons for why he should be removed from the program.
Since his endorsement of Trump last month, Sessions has become increasingly involved in the billionaire businessman’s campaign, heading Trump’s National Security Advisory Committee and arranging a meeting between Trump and GOP leaders in Washington a few weeks ago.
The petition against Senator Sessions has over 300 signatures, but UAH leaders are not considering making a change.
“The Honorable Jeff Sessions has ably served the people of Alabama as United States Senator since 1997, and was the unanimous choice for Commencement speaker of a diverse selection committee that represents students, faculty and staff,” the school said in a statement. “As a university that values inclusiveness, we welcome Senator Sessions with the respect and civility that he and his office deserve.”
The petition from members of the UAH student body comes at a time when some college campuses around the country are becoming hotbeds for political correctness and censorship.
After several schools created “safe spaces” where only certain types of students could come and be “protected” from students with different perspectives, even President Barack Obama felt compelled to chastise liberal students for being closed minded.
“I’ve heard of some college campuses where they don’t want to have a guest speaker who is too conservative…” Obama said. “And I’ve got to tell you, I don’t agree with that… I don’t agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view… Anybody who comes to speak to you that you disagree with, you should have an argument with them. But you shouldn’t silence them by telling them, ‘You can’t come because I’m too sensitive to hear what you have to say.’ That’s not the way we learn.”
(Editor’s note: Obviously President Obama is not speaking directly to UAH students in response to their petition, but the principle he is communicating clearly applies.)
(Video below: President Obama tells liberal college students to quit silencing speakers who disagree with them.)
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