University students and community members protested President Donald Trump’s commencement address at multiple Tuscaloosa locations Thursday.
Tide Against Trump rally
The UA College Democrats hosted “Tide Against Trump” at Snow Hinton Park. Former Alabama United States Sen. Doug Jones and former Texas U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke rallied with students against Trump’s commencement address.
“I’ve been asked a lot about the protest, and I’ve told the media every time, this is not a protest, this is a movement,” Jones said. “Every change in this country has come from a movement that involved us, and you got to make your voices work, whether it be in social media or your community.”
Braden Vick, outgoing president of UACD, said he believes Trump was trying to turn commencement into “a political sideshow,” saying that his appearance at the Alabama-Georgia game is an example of how he makes large events “all about him.”
“Every time he comes here, he doesn’t do it to benefit the University. He does this to benefit himself,” Vick said. “We’ve got hundreds of people here who are going to politely tell him to get the hell out of Tuscaloosa as fast as possible.”
Alabama Senate candidates Mark Wheeler, Dakarai Larriett and Kyle Sweetser also attended the rally.
O’Rourke said he accepted UACD’s invitation “in a heartbeat.”
“This country is under attack by the very man who imposed himself on the commencement ceremonies where he tried to steal the spotlight from the students who earned that through their work, through their effort and through their accomplishments,” he said.
O’Rourke compared the current protests in Tuscaloosa to Alabama’s past during the Civil Rights Movement, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965.
“It is so easy to be tempted by despair — instead you chose to stand up,” he said. “Remember you have the power. Let’s go out and share that with this country.”
Donald Trump grabs UA by the Diploma!
Alabama 50501, the state chapter of 50501 — a grassroots organization that planned 50 protests across the country in a “national day of solidarity” Thursday — hosted “Donald Trump grabs UA by the Diploma!” at Government Plaza.
Angelica McCain, a state organizer for Alabama 50501, said that Trump’s coming to the University took away from graduating students and that she believes he doesn’t have as much support in Alabama as he thinks.
“Even in the deepest of red states like Alabama, you’re not welcome here,” she said, referring to Trump. “We don’t want you here. Nobody asked you to be here.”
Racer Terranami, a senior majoring in geology, said he believes the Trump administration has “divided everybody” in the U.S.
“At the end of the day, we’re all Americans and we all want to live in a better country, but the populist kind of rhetoric that Trump and his supporters have kind of fell into, I feel made everybody everybody else’s enemy,” he said. “It just feels like things are wrong, and the more time that goes on and the more things he changes, the more wrong it feels.”
The group marched from Government Plaza to the protest area designated by the University.
On-campus protest
Students, alumni and other Alabamians also rallied to protest Trump’s address at Butler Field, the University’s designated on-campus site for demonstrations.
“I take issue with the cutbacks on higher education, actually trying to take over higher education and dominate, doing away with DEI programs, which is very important to me as a former social worker and a priest, and as a human being, respect the dignity of every human being,” said Rev. Danny Whitehead of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. “I would think students have all those concerns.”
Carly King, a sophomore majoring in finance and economics said she doesn’t “think it’s fair for the school to make a political statement on her behalf” and “assume things” because of the university she attends.
Dan Sanders, a resident of Huntsville, said he came to the on-campus protest because “it’s a critical time … to show up in as many numbers” as possible. “We the people have to speak,” he said. “We have to resist. We have to let it be known in larger numbers and larger numbers that this is unacceptable.”
“Nobody asked him to show up,” said John Dill, a U.S. Navy veteran. “The fact that the guy’s even here, he’s dismantling our government. He’s going after the vulnerable people without due process and it’s pitiful. He hasn’t done anything to make this country better.”
Walkout protest
Multiple students also walked out of the commencement when Trump took the stage.
“I walked out because I wanted to show some sort of protest to policies and rhetoric that the Trump admin has shown,” said Ryder Stradlin, a graduating senior majoring in political science. “By walking out and supporting those who are doing different forms of protests, it shows that there is something more important going on here this weekend, and that’s us graduating.”
Eden Ridout, a freshman majoring in secondary education language arts and English, said in a text message that President Donald Trump’s appearance was a “disgrace.”
“In an hour-long speech, he barely mentioned the students he was supposedly there to celebrate and struggled to stay on topic,” Ridout said.
Ridout said the president has a “hostility” toward students citing the examples of international students detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including Alireza Doroudi, a UA Iranian doctoral student who was detained by ICE last month.
“This was never about honouring graduating students,” Ridout said. “It was a performance of obedience to authoritarianism in fear he may destroy what’s left of our institution’s ability to educate.”
