their goal was to create dialogue about viewpoints they felt were under-represented Several open letters were published, with one addressing the newspapers arguments directly, and another criticizing what it saw as the president's harsh response.
=== 2019 Commencement controversy ===
On March 24, 2019, university president Paul Lowell Haines announced that Vice President Mike Pence would be delivering the commencement speech at the 2019 graduation ceremonies. Controversy was immediate, the faculty voting on a motion of dissent, with 61 against the Pence invitation, 41 in favor and 3 abstaining. Competing petitions were organized, calling for the invitation to be rescinded or supporting the invitation. Student and faculty organized protests to walk out before the commencement speech, or to sit silently during the speech. Students and faculty expressed several reasons for protesting: the lack of faculty and student input into the decision, concerns that Pence's invitation was an endorsement of specific political …
