Students at the University of Michigan law school walked out of their own graduation ceremony last weekend, rather than listen to a commencement speech from a Republican senator.
The newly-minted lawyers made their stand as Senator (and ex-Squire, Sanders & Dempsey lawyer) Rob Portman took to the stage. Portman has a history of voting against gay marriage and a well-known antipathy towards gay adoption. Which doesn't really make him popular with a right-on crowd of fresh-faced legal brainiacs.
Given that the students each pay a mind-blowing $45,000 a year for tuition (to say nothing of cash for non-essentials like food and shelter), they presumably thought that they deserved some say in who sends them off into the big scary world of law. And unsurprisingly there were howls when the distinguished firebrand - a Michigan alumnus - was announced as speaker, and the university prepared for a shouting match.
A third of the class - about 100 students - filed out in silence as Portman approached the podium. And marched straight back in when Portman had finished. It was estimated that 60% of the class wore a rainbow on their gowns or mortar boards in sympathy with the protestors.
An unofficial spokesman for the protest said "I think we made our point".
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The newly-minted lawyers made their stand as Senator (and ex-Squire, Sanders & Dempsey lawyer) Rob Portman took to the stage. Portman has a history of voting against gay marriage and a well-known antipathy towards gay adoption. Which doesn't really make him popular with a right-on crowd of fresh-faced legal brainiacs.
Given that the students each pay a mind-blowing $45,000 a year for tuition (to say nothing of cash for non-essentials like food and shelter), they presumably thought that they deserved some say in who sends them off into the big scary world of law. And unsurprisingly there were howls when the distinguished firebrand - a Michigan alumnus - was announced as speaker, and the university prepared for a shouting match.
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Students walk out at the University of Michigan. How it may have looked. |
A third of the class - about 100 students - filed out in silence as Portman approached the podium. And marched straight back in when Portman had finished. It was estimated that 60% of the class wore a rainbow on their gowns or mortar boards in sympathy with the protestors.
An unofficial spokesman for the protest said "I think we made our point".