The students who walked out of graduation ceremonies at the University of Notre Dame to protest commencement speaker Vice President Mike Pence are part of a growing trend of "leftwing snowflakes" on the nation's college campuses, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says.
On Sunday, close to 150 students in caps and gowns rose to their feet and silently marched out as Pence began addressing the Class of 2017 at the renowned Catholic school in Indiana.
Huckabee — a longtime supporter of Pence, the former governor of Indiana, and President Donald Trump — said they missed an excellent speech.
"Pence's address was a forceful defense of free speech and diversity of ideas, something that used to be the hallmark of college campuses before the leftwing snowflakes appeared, demanding 'safe spaces' and the silencing of any views they disagree with," Huckabee wrote on his blog MikeHuckabee.com.
"Pence praised Notre Dame for refusing to give in to that anti-American trend. Not [that] there isn't pressure: some students had demanded that Pence's speech be canceled, and a group of them walked out during it.
"But then, what could they possibly have to learn from a forceful defense of free speech and diversity of ideas?"
On Facebook, the student protestors said their actions were a way to "take back our graduation and show our dissatisfaction with the University's selection of Mike Pence as honored speaker."
The group said it the stood in "solidarity with all marginalized people affected by Pence's politics, both on this campus and throughout our nation."
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