Dr. Fauci to Speak at U of M Commencement, Protesters Expected

This weekend, Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci will deliver the commencement address for the University of Michigan, and protesters are expected to be in full force.

This Saturday's graduation ceremony for the classes of 2020 and 2021 is being dubbed a 'comeback ceremony' as the original was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to CBS 62, Fauci has been recommended to receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from U of M.

University Prepares for Backlash

Rick Fitzgerald is a spokesman for the University of Michigan. He tells Bridge Magazine that the university is aware of a planned protest and plans to take precautions to make sure the event is safe.

Ross Barranco from Northville is organizing the protest. He disagrees with Fauci's philosophies as he encouraged state leaders to enforce mask mandates and institute vaccine requirements during the height of the coronavirus.

Barranco is in need of a kidney transplant but refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine. He says Michigan Medicine began requiring proof of vaccinations for those on transplant waitlists and anticipates that he'll soon be removed from that list.

Other Graduates Have Different Reasons to Skip the Ceremony

Other recent grads tell Bridge that they plan to skip the festivities because Dr. Fauci is a reminder of the pandemic's impact on their college experience.

Morgan Saladino is one of those graduates.

“(Fauci) is a super well-known public figure, obviously a very smart guy, and I would like to hear him talk,” Saladino said. “But graduation was really weird for me. It was awful to have missed out on that. So I kind of just tried to move on and accept it and that’s what a lot of my friends tried to do which is why we're not going back for the ceremony.”

My son is also a 2020 graduate of U of M Flint. He's declining to attend the comeback ceremony, not because of any political reasons but simply because he doesn't feel like donning a cap and gown and sitting through the ceremony.

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