NORFOLK, Va. — An Old Dominion University student created a Change.org petition two days ago. The petition aims to stop Governor Glenn Youngkin from speaking at graduation this year and already has more than 1,700 signatures.
“I think it is absolutely wild how the community has sort of mobilized around this," said ODU student Kiran Kumar.
Kiran Kumar created the online petition with a friend and said he’s comforted to see so many people supporting it.
“I graduate in December, but a lot of my loved ones are graduating at this upcoming ceremony." Kumar said. "I know that there are a lot of people discontent with this decision.”
Kumar said he is speaking against Governor Youngkin’s involvement because of Youngkin's stances on transgender rights, critical race theory, and more.
“I am a transgender student who is also a person of color and disabled," Kumar said. "I am also an aspiring librarian. So his attempts to pass book bans in Virginia have not gone over super well with me personally.”
Many people commented on the petition. One person said, "Governor Youngkin goes against what ODU claims to support.
Another person said, “I don’t want to see someone who wants to ban critical race theory from public schools speaking to a school that has plenty people of color.”
Still, some ODU students said they aren’t opposed to Youngkin speaking at graduation.
"It doesn’t really bother me either way that he is here or he is not," said student Krystal Mabey.
"It doesn’t really affect me, but shoot, still kind of cool someone in the office is coming to speak," said student Cameron Poles.
A spokesperson for ODU says it’s a tradition for governors to speak at commencement saying in a statement:
"ODU is committed to fostering an environment for the meaningful expression of ideas and we encourage respectful and collegial dialogue. Dating back the 1969 appearance of Governor Colgate Darden Jr., it has been a tradition for governors to speak at commencement. We appreciate the feedback of our campus community and look forward to recognizing this important milestone for our graduates."
Kumar hopes his petition doesn’t go unnoticed.
“I want them to know and hear us and know a lot of us are uncomfortable and unhappy with the decision," Kumar said. "I know it is probably too late to make any sort of concrete change, but I would just like to be heard.”
13News Now reached out to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s team for a comment about the circulating petition but have not heard back yet.