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Ahead of President Biden’s commencement remarks on Sunday at Morehouse College in Atlanta, a prestigious traditionally Black establishment, the White House signaled some anxiousness concerning the potential for protests over the battle in Gaza.
During a current go to to Atlanta, Vice President Kamala Harris stopped to ask the Morehouse scholar authorities president concerning the sentiment on campus concerning the battle, how college students felt about Mr. Biden’s go to and what the graduating class wished to listen to from him. Later, the chief of the administration’s public engagement workplace and one in every of its most senior Black officers, Stephen Okay. Benjamin, visited to take the temperature of scholars, college members and directors.
The causes for concern are clear: Nationwide demonstrations over the battle and Mr. Biden’s method to it have infected greater than 60 faculties and universities, stoked tensions inside the Democratic Party and created new complications for his re-election bid.
Yet Mr. Biden seems to be getting into a unique kind of scene at Morehouse.
While anger over the battle stays palpable at Morehouse and different traditionally Black faculties and universities, these campuses have been largely freed from turmoil, and tensions are far much less evident: no encampments, few loud protests and little signal of Palestinian flags flying from dorm home windows.
The causes stem from political, cultural and socioeconomic variations with different establishments of upper studying. While H.B.C.U.s host a variety of political opinions, home issues are likely to outweigh overseas coverage within the minds of most college students. Many began decrease on the financial ladder and are extra intently targeted on their schooling and their job prospects after commencement.
At Morehouse — which has a legacy of civil rights protests and is the alma mater of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — discontent over the Gaza battle has performed out in lecture rooms and auditoriums reasonably than on campus lawns.
“This shouldn’t be a spot that cancels folks no matter if we agree with them,” David Thomas, the Morehouse president, stated in an interview earlier this month. Of Mr. Biden’s go to, he stated, “Whether folks assist the choice or not, they’re dedicated to having it occur on our campus in a method that doesn’t undermine the integrity or dignity of the college.”
Some college students have held contentious conferences with college leaders and urged them to rescind Mr. Biden’s invitation, and a small group of school members has vowed to not attend graduation. Some alumni wrote a letter expressing worries that scholar protesters may very well be punished, noting Morehouse’s historical past of “celebrating scholar activists lengthy after they’ve graduated.”
But the school may seem politically safer for the president to go to than many others. Morehouse is a custom-bound place the place undergraduates historically don’t step on the grass within the coronary heart of campus till they obtain their levels. Alumni view graduation as a distinguished occasion not just for college students but additionally for scores of household and group members — making it a much less probably venue for a serious disruption.
Kitty Bennett contributed analysis.
