Latest news with #UACD
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
University of Alabama students weigh in on President Donald Trump's commencement address
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — President Donald Trump will deliver a commencement address at the University of Alabama on Thursday. This ticketed event for graduating seniors is set to take place inside Coleman Coliseum at 6:30 p.m. The event was added to the graduation ceremonies already scheduled to take place by the individual colleges May 2 through May 4. Nick Saban and University President Stuart Bell are also planning to speak at the event. UA Senior Clara Hurst says she does not plan to attend his commencement address. 'I just feel like my values do not align with his and not something that I want to go to,' Hurst said. 'I just don't want to deal with the hassle,' another student, Stephen Adkins, said. 'Either way, it's cool for a sitting president to come and do a commencement speech at Alabama.' 'I think it's a cool opportunity for students, especially being a graduating senior. It's something that I'll look back on,' Senior Andrew Stovall added. The UA College Democrats have planned a peaceful protest from 4- 8 p.m. at Snow Hinton Park. The protest will feature former Representative Beto O'Rourke, former Senator Doug Jones and U.S. Senate candidate Kyle Sweetser. More information, as well as updates, can be found on the UACD's social media pages. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin gives update on efforts to reduce blighted houses Riley Mcardle, the Executive Director of the UA Republicans, said he's excited about the president's visit. While he's only a junior, he will get to attend the event. 'First and foremost, I think he should be giving so much honor and praise to our graduates who have worked so hard to get here,' McArdle said, also noting that he would be okay with President Trump discussing his accomplishments. Braden Vick, President of UACD, said he would not be opposed to a republican commencement speaker as long as they had ties to the University of Alabama. 'But this is Donald Trump,' Vick said. 'This is a guy who has defiled the office of the Presidency throughout his political career. This is a guy who has no real special personal interest in the success of this university, but now he's using it as his playground. We don't exactly take kindly to that around here.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘UA is not a fascist playground': UA College Democrats respond to Trump delivering commencement address
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — The University of Alabama College Democrats (UACD) released a statement railing against the announcement that President Trump will deliver a commencement address at the college on May 1. 'UACD is shocked and disgusted to learn that our unpopular, divisive, and authoritarian President will be involved in commencement for the graduating class of 2025. This insult will not go unanswered,' the statement read in part. President Trump announces he's agreed to commencement address at University of Alabama The group took particular issue with Trump's appearance following the detention of Alireza Doroudi. Doroudi, a 32-year-old doctoral student majoring in mechanical engineering at the University of Alabama, was detained by officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before 5 a.m. March 25 at his off-campus apartment in Tuscaloosa. Doroudi, originally from Iran, is now being held at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, Louisiana without bond. Previously, a representative with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security claimed that Doroudi posed 'significant national security concerns,' but failed to elaborate on what those concerns were. 'The Trump administration kidnapped one of our PH.D. students for no reason a few weeks ago and is holding him without bond at an ICE black site in Louisiana. There is no greater insult than this,' the statement read. The UACD's full statement can be read below. Trump initially announced he would be delivering a commencement address at the university through a Truth Social post Monday evening. The ticketed event, which will be at Coleman Coliseum, will be open to all spring 2025 graduates. UA College Republicans took issue with the message sent out by the UACD, stating 'We were disappointed to see the inflammatory reaction from our radical leftist counterparts, the UA College Democrats. They do not represent Alabama, and they do not represent our student body.' Full UACD statement: UACD is shocked and disgusted to learn that our unpopular, divisive, and authoritarian President will be involved in commencement for the graduating class of 2025. This insult will not go unanswered. The last time the disgraced criminal visited campus, he was able to turn the Alabama-Georgia game, the biggest college football game on our campus in years, into a political sideshow. We cannot allow this to happen with our commencement ceremonies. For all of his meddling in UA affairs, Donald Trump lost our campus to former Vice President Kamala Harris last semester. UA is not a fascist playground. The Trump administration kidnapped one of our PH.D. students for no reason a few weeks ago and is holding him without bond at an ICE black site in Louisiana. There is no greater insult than this. Given that the White House has pulled federal funding from colleges and universities across our country, we understand if the Bell administration may be stuck between a rock and a hard place. We simply don't want UA to be turned into a backdrop for MAGA propaganda. UACD and its partners are actively mobilizing in response to last night's news. We will have more updates whenever possible, and we hope to update everyone in the next few days. The University of Alabama College Democrats Full response from University of Alabama College Republicans: Yesterday, President Donald J. Trump announced he will deliver the commencement address for the University of Alabama's Spring 2025 graduating class. We are honored to welcome the President back to Tuscaloosa, and we are proud to attend a university where America first values are dominant and, thanks to our state's Republican lawmakers, common sense is taught. We were disappointed to see the inflammatory reaction from our radical leftist counterparts, the UA College Democrats. They do not represent Alabama, and they do not represent our student body. The University of Alabama College Republicans Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
