College Democrats: ‘UA is not a fascist playground’
Leftist student groups at the University of Alabama are voicing their objections to President Trump’s scheduled commencement address next week.
According to The Crimson White, Trump will appear May 1 at the Coleman Coliseum, but his speech is not considered part of any “actual” graduation ceremonies.
Still, progressives aren’t happy about the chief exec coming to campus.
This past Monday, UA alum Kaila Pouncy held a “Tide Against Tyranny” Zoom meeting which was “open to all alumni, students, faculty and staff to express their concerns, personal stories and ‘the potential risk and implications’ Trump’s presence “could pose for people who are marginalized students.’”
Pouncy, the deputy director at RestoreHER US where she “spearhead[s] transformative policy initiatives and lead[s] comprehensive programming dedicated to empowering justice-impacted women” according to her Linkedin page, said she was “extremely sad and disappointed” Trump was coming to UA.
“I want to see Alabama stand up for students and make sure that they are curating an environment where all students feel welcome,” Pouncy said.
She chided UA for allowing a speech that is “divisive,” “harmful,” and “dangerous.”
A Change.org petition by the same name was created by alum Tanner Roden (pictured) which expressed concern over “the current political climate and the contentious legacy” of Trump’s administration.
“The values and rhetoric associated with President Trump do not reflect the inclusive and respectful environment we strive to uphold at the University of Alabama,” the petition reads.
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Roden himself said “I personally am not going to sit and watch the school, my alma mater, bend the back to a tyrannous president.”
The UA College Democrats were a bit more forceful in their language, saying they were “shocked” and “disgusted” at Trump’s appearance, and accused him of “kidnapping” a UA PhD student “for no reason.”
“The last time the disgraced criminal visited campus, he was able to turn the Alabama-Georgia game […] into a political sideshow,” the group posted on Instagram. “For all his meddling in UA affairs, Donald Trump lost our campus to former Vice President Kamala Harris last semester. UA is not a fascist playground.”
(Trump may have lost the university in the 2024 election, but he won the state of Alabama 65 percent to Harris’s 34.)
The UA Queer Student Union posted that its executive council deemed it “unacceptable” that UA allowed on campus “a figure that attacks marginalized communities.”
And UA Planned Parenthood Generation Action encouraged students to contact university administrators to complain about Trump’s visit, sign petitions, and ultimately to walk out of his address if they decide to attend.
In contrast, the College Republicans wrote they were “honored” to have Trump at UA, and referred to the College Democrats as their “radical leftist counterparts” which “do not represent Alabama [or the] student body.”
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and other GOP politicians said the president’s speech would be a “positive opportunity” for students.
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IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: President Trump gives an ‘oh well’ expression; Albert H. Teich/Shutterstock.com. INTERIOR IMAGE: Tanner Roden/Instagram
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