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By Aila Slisco
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Students planning to protest President Joe Biden's Morehouse College commencement speech have reportedly been warned that graduation ceremonies will quickly end if any "disruptive" behavior occurs.
Biden is set to travel to the Atlanta campus of Morehouse, a historically Black college with alumni that include civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., to deliver the commencement speech on Sunday. His visit comes amid a wave of college campus protests over Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza.
The president being invited to deliver the commencement address prompted immediate backlash from Morehouse students and faculty opposed to his pro-Israel stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with some suggesting that a demonstration could be staged during the speech.
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Morehouse President David Thomas told CNN in an interview published on Thursday that "prolonged shouting down" of Biden would not be tolerated, arguing that a "failed commencement" would be preferable to allowing "hate speech" to dominate the ceremony.
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"What we won't allow is disruptive behavior that prevents the ceremony or services from proceeding in a manner that those in attendance can partake and enjoy," Thomas said. "For example, prolonged shouting down of the president as he speaks."
"I would rather be the first president to have a failed commencement than to say you are less important than the ceremonies of this institution," he continued.
Thomas went on to suggest that police might remove protesters from the speech if they are being disruptive, but added that police using zip ties could also trigger a ceremony shutdown.
"I have also made a decision that we will also not ask police to take individuals out of commencement in zip ties," Thomas said. "If faced with the choice, I will cease the ceremonies on the spot If we were to reach that position."
Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Thursday.
Morehouse announced last month that Biden would be delivering the keynote graduation speech, quickly sparking protests and demands for Thomas to rescind the invitation.
A group of Morehouse alumni drafted a letter that demanded Thomas either drop Biden or somehow break the college's "attachment" to King, arguing that allowing Biden to speak would amount to "complicity in genocide."
"In inviting President Biden to campus, the college affirms a cruel standard that complicity in genocide merits no sanction," the alumni wrote. "If the college cannot affirm this noble tradition of justice by rescinding its invitation to President Biden, then the college should reconsider its attachment to Dr. King."
Two protests that were recently organized by Atlanta University Center, an organization involving four Atlanta-area historically Black colleges and universities, included chants of "Joe Biden f*** off" and "Biden, Biden, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide," according to the Associated Press (AP).
The president's support among Black voters has recently been waning, particularly in Georgia, which could have major implications for the outcome of the November presidential election. Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in Georgia by less than 12,000 votes in 2020.
Biden has not given any indication that he is considering canceling his speech. It is unclear whether a protest will actually take place during the ceremony, with student protest leaders saying they are "unaware of any plans to demonstrate," according to AP.
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