FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — George Mason University students are planning a walkout at graduation on Thursday in protest of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivering this year's commencement speech.
Mason's College Democrats appear to be organizing the walkout.
"This is not someone who reflects the values that the university claims to have," John Dressel told WUSA9 back in March when the University announced Youngkin as the commencement speaker.
In an Instagram post, the group outlined their plan:
- Walk out. "Don't give a gov. who doesn't care about us your attention," the poster wrote. "Walk out and then join us outside of EagleBank in a demonstration against hate and celebration of the class of 2023."
- Speak out. "If you choose not to walk out, show your resistance to Youngkin's agenda through holding up a sign, waving a pride flag, or standing up and turning around while he speaks," the post continued.
The walkout comes after several petitions to remove Gov. Youngkin as commencement speaker, with one petition getting over 8,000 signatures. In response to the backlash, another online petition in support of Youngkin speaking was created. To date, it has 163 signatures.
"Governor Youngkin looks forward to addressing the 2023 graduates of George Mason University and celebrating their tremendous accomplishment," the governor's spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said when asked about the petitions.
The president of Mason's College Republicans said he is excited to see the governor speak.
"He is the governor coming to speak at the largest public institution in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia," Joe Szymanski said. "That's pretty common."
Past sitting Virginia governors to speak at GMU include Jim Gilmore (1998), Mark Warner (2003), Tim Kaine (2007) and Terry McAuliffe (2016).
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