Morehouse College president David A. Thomas said if President Biden’s commencement speech is interrupted on Sunday by pro-Hamas demonstrators all ceremonies could be called off "on the spot."
The College will not tolerate “disruptive behavior that prevents the ceremony or services from proceeding in a manner that those in attendance can partake and enjoy,” Thomas told CNN, explaining that would include behavior such as “prolonged shouting down” of Biden. Thomas said, however, that he will not allow police to remove disruptive students in zip ties.
"I will cease the ceremonies on the spot If we were to reach that position," he said.
“I would rather be the first president to have a failed commencement than to say you are less important than the ceremonies of this institution,” Thomas added.
That doesn’t mean all forms of protest will be banned at Morehouse during the event.
“You want to walk across the stage in a piece of garment that identifies your moral connection to either side of this conflict because we also have Jewish students here, you can do that,” he told CNN. “As long as you don’t conduct yourselves in a way that deprives others from being able to participate, consume and celebrate this moment.”
Protests have erupted at college campuses across the country as students have demanded that universities divest from Israel.
Commencement ceremonies are taking place against a backdrop of police barricades and heightened law enforcement presence, metal detectors and other security measures.
Biden has been confronted by some protests during his own speeches and campaign events. A Biden speech on abortion rights at George Mason University in Virginia earlier this year was marred by more than a dozen protests over his administration’s support of Israel. (CNN)
Ahead of Biden's planned commencement address this weekend, the president of Morehouse College says he'd cancel the service "on the spot" if students protest Biden's pandering pic.twitter.com/7J8jPn8dgy
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 16, 2024
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