Students at Christian university urge administration to rescind Pence’s commencement invite

Students and alumni of a small evangelical Christian school in Indiana are urging the administration to disinvite Vice President Pence from delivering the commencement address.

More than 3,700 signatures were collected on a Change.org petition as of Monday afternoon, asking Taylor University President Paul Lowell Haines to rescind Pence’s invitation, according to Fox News. The university, located outside Indianapolis, has an enrollment of fewer than 3,000 students.

“Inviting Vice President Pence to Taylor University and giving him a coveted platform for his political views makes our alumni, faculty, staff and current students complicit in the Trump-Pence Administration’s policies, which we believe are not consistent with the Christian ethic of love we hold dear,” the petition, which was started last week, reads.

{mosads}Pence has often said that his Christian values shape his political views.

This will be Pence’s first commencement address at a school in Indiana, where he previously served as governor, since students at Notre Dame walked out during his speech in 2017.

Pence is also set to deliver the commencement speech at Liberty University next month.

Haines, the president of Taylor University, defended the decision to have Pence speak at the commencement ceremony, saying he has been a “good friend to the University over many years.”

“Since making the announcement of Vice President Mike Pence’s upcoming commencement speech, we have received feedback from people on either side of the issue. Taylor University is an intentional Christian community that strives to encourage positive, respectful and meaningful dialogue,” James Garringer, a spokesman for the university, told Fox News in a statement.