• President Obama will be the commencement speaker at the University of Notre Dame.
• Many students and alumni are upset about this choice.
• Most seniors support the University's invitation to Obama.
• Notre Dame has a long history of inviting presidents to speak at commencement.

There have been various reactions to the University of Notre Dame's announcement that President Obama will receive an honorary degree and be this year's commencement speaker.

Obama will be the ninth president to be awarded an honorary degree and the sixth to speak at commencement, according to a Notre Dame news release.

Notre Dame has a long history of inviting United States presidents to be commencement speakers.

According to a statement released by Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins, although the university does not support all of the president's policies he is being honored as an "inspiring leader."

"It is of special significance that we will hear from our first African-American president, a person who has spoken eloquently and movingly about race in this nation. Racial prejudice has been a deep wound in America, and Mr. Obama has been a healer," Jenkins said in the statement.

Spencer Cross, a freshman at Notre Dame, said no one wants to look back and say they refused to let the first black president speak.

"Like it or not, he's going to be a historical figure," Cross said.

This is not the first time a presidential speaker has been protested at Notre Dame.

In an e-mail, university spokesman Dennis Brown said President Ronald Reagan's social justice policies were protested in 1981. He said President George W. Bush's support of the death penalty was protested in 2001.

"When President Bush spoke at our 2001 commencement, there was a petition in opposition," Brown said. "Protesters gathered on campus on the day of the commencement, some students wore white arm bands in protest, and one graduate turned his back on the president and prayed the rosary during the speech."

Most students are in favor of having Obama on campus, according to an editorial in Notre Dame's student newspaper, The Observer.

The editorial reported 73 percent of students who wrote letters to the editor were in favor of having Obama speak. Ninety-seven percent of the letters from seniors also supported the university's decision to honor Obama, according to the editorial.

Shin Inouye is the director of specialty media for the White House.

In an e-mail, Inouye said, "(The president) does not govern with the expectation that everyone sees eye to eye with him on every position, and the spirit of debate and healthy disagreement on important issues is part of what he loves about this country."

Cross said everyone needs to realize how honored they should be that the president is coming.

"I think people need to grow up," he said.

Although those in opposition are in the minority, opposition on campus is still prevalent.

NDResponse, a coalition of anti-abortion student groups at Notre Dame, was formed to express opposition to the choice of commencement speaker, according to a statement put out by the coalition.

The group's opposition is based on the Catholic stance on abortion and on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' 2004 statement "Catholics in Political Life," which says no abortion-rights politician should be honored.

Jon Buttaci, president of the Orestes Brownson Council and part of the coalition, said prayerfulness is central to the response. According to its Web site, the goal of the council is to help students better understand the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Although graduation is important to him, Buttaci said he will not attend his own commencement because of Obama's views on abortion.

"I can't in good conscience attend these ceremonies where somebody advocating this is honored," Buttaci said.

J.C. Clark, a sophomore at Notre Dame, said he hopes there will be demonstrations on campus, although he doesn't support violent protests or pictures of aborted fetuses.

Clark said this situation has made him realize if he wants his views to be heard, he needs to be more active. He said he is now in the process of joining an anti-abortion group on campus.

The university needs to be open to people of different beliefs, said Notre Dame alumnus Bill Dunn, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1989.

Dunn said he voted for Obama, but does not want Notre Dame to be lumped together with narrow-minded institutions.

Un-inviting Obama would not be a good idea, said Dunn. If Obama isn't allowed to speak because his views on abortion contradict the Church's, then divorcees shouldn't be allowed to speak either, he said.

Unless the pope offers to give the commencement speech, Cross said there is no reason why Obama should be uninvited.