Argumentative Essay: Mike Pence

In the days since Mike Pence was announced as an honorary degree recipient and the principal speaker at Notre Dame’s Commencement this May, I have both overheard and been a part of many conversations debating the University’s decision to invite Vice President Pence to campus for such a significant event.

I heavily considered writing a Viewpoint piece in defense of the University’s decision to invite Pence, but what good would come of this? Realistically, both those in favor of the decision to invite Pence and those opposed are not going to have their opinion easily swayed. The tension and degree to which people feel polarized by this decision became evident to me via posts and comments in the Class of 2017 Facebook group. I’ll leave the debating
If you choose to do this, that’s perfectly fine, but why let one person ruin your Notre Dame graduation? In recent months I have thought a lot about what I would do if the University invited a politician I staunchly disagreed with to speak at Commencement. What would I do if I felt that the person speaking discriminated against me as a Catholic, white, male, Second-Amendment-loving American? I arrived at the conclusion that I would still attend Commencement. Don’t let one person alter your decision to attend Commencement. Doing so lets the other person (or group) win. Show Pence and your classmates who support him that you won’t allow yourself to be weak and alienated from such a significant event in your
This, in my mind, is the worst option, because it is incredibly disrespectful not only to Vice President Pence, but also to your fellow classmates as you cause a disruption leaving the crowded seating area. The obvious counterargument here is, “As a x,y,z student, Pence doesn’t respect me!” Even if you feel this is true, have respect for your fellow classmates who support him. And above all, if you are a person of faith or feel shaped by Christian morals at all, have respect for Pence even if you don’t think he respects you. Countless times in Scripture we are taught to love and respect each other, and even if you feel that Pence doesn’t love you (although I would argue that as a Christian, he does), follow Paul’s teaching to the Romans to “love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor” (Romans