Notre Dame Students Support Obama Invite

Bishops are angry, but students want to see the president
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 27, 2009 11:11 AM CDT
Notre Dame Students Support Obama Invite
In this Thursday Dec. 11, 2003 picture, Bishop John M. D'Arcy speaks to reporters in South Bend, Ind. The Roman Catholic bishop will boycott President Obama's May 17 commencement speech.   (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

President Obama's invitation to speak at Notre Dame's graduation has prompted protests from two bishops, who blasted the Catholic school for inviting a president who supports stem-cell research and funding for family-planning clinics that offer abortion. But students are eager for Obama's visit, the AP reports. Based on letters to the student paper, 97% of seniors support their class committee's choice of speaker, while most alumni oppose it.

The invitation continues a tradition of Notre Dame inviting every new president to speak at commencement. "I didn't vote for him and there are a lot of things I don't agree with him or support," said one senior. "But I feel like for this event people need to put that aside."
(More President Obama stories.)

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