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George Mason University has announced that Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will give his 2023 graduation speech in May, and some students are pushing for his speech to be cancelled.
University students launched a petition on Thursday, the same day Yongkin was announced as speaker, demanding that Yongin not be allowed to speak or even attend the graduation ceremony on May 18.
“As a patriot and potential graduate of George Mason University, my peers and I do not want our prom memories to be tainted by a man who has harmed and continues to harm the people he serves,” high school senior Alaina Ruffin wrote on her Facebook page. Web site. petition. “On behalf of the 2023 GMU alumni, we urge you to sign this petition and request that the administration of George Mason University take appropriate action to prevent Governor Youngkin from attending or speaking at the Spring 2023 Opening Ceremony.”
Ruffin appears to be particularly at odds with the governor’s track record of approving transgender laws and controversial school programs. His administration’s proposals included banning transgender students from using restrooms or participating in sports teams that did not match their biological sex, as well as banning critical racial theory and sexually explicit books from schools.
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George Mason University has announced that Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will speak at the 2023 graduation ceremony in May. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The speaker’s choice, which passed legislation against transgender people, promoted the elimination of racial equality-based curricula and limited the availability of literature in public schools, is a deliberate target of historically marginalized communities, including Mason,” Ruffin wrote. “For many of the students who continually shape the GMU community, it is hurtful and disrespectful to bring in someone who also neglects the needs of the people of Virginia.”
“George Mason University prides itself on being one of the ‘most diverse institutions in the Commonwealth’. However, by inviting Governor Yongkin as a speaker for this year’s graduation ceremony, we believe the university is compromising its perceived values by focusing on the student experience and overall well-being,” she continued. “To satisfy its own desire to appease the powerful few, the University again abandoned these principles.”
As of early Sunday morning, more than 5,100 people have signed the petition.
The university’s student government also said it was “deeply saddened and concerned” by the decision to accept Yunkin as speaker at the graduation ceremony.
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Students at George Mason University have launched a petition demanding that Jungin be banned from speaking or attending the graduation ceremony on May 18. (Getty)
“The Youngkin administration has supported and developed policies that target transgender youth, racial and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ+ people,” the student government leadership said in a press release. The current motto of George Mason University is “Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”; however, the actions of the Youngkin administration demonstrate their commitment opposite. Inviting Glenn Youngkin to our spring prom is not only a betrayal of all minority groups on campus, but an increase in their hypocrisy and dishonesty by the Mason administration itself.”
BLACC Mason, a collegiate coalition of blacks, African heritage and the Caribbean, also issued a statement against Youngkin as a commencement speaker.
“Our duty as members of this community is to stand up to bigotry and bigotry,” the group wrote on Instagram. “We must demand that our administration remove Chonkin from his position as speaker. We cannot allow our university to provide a platform for those who actively promote discrimination and hatred.”
Some George Mason University students are pushing for his acceptance speech to be canceled because of his track record on transgender and race issues in education. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Youngkin is scheduled to address the University’s 2023 alumni at EagleBank Arena on May 18, becoming the last sitting Virginia governor to address Mason alumni, joining former governors Jim Gilmour, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and Terry McAuliffe.
“Governor Youngkin’s commitment to lifelong learning and his entrepreneurial mindset are what we develop in all of our graduates,” Mason University President Gregory Washington said in a statement.
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