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In a late night post to Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced that he has “agreed to do the Commencement Address at two really GREAT places, the University of Alabama and, WEST POINT.” Commencement ceremonies will be held on May 2, 3, and 4 this year according to the university’s website.
University of Alabama alum and Alabama Senator Katie Britt described the news as “a tremendous honor for my alma mater” and a “historic occasion for graduates and their families” in a post to X Tuesday morning.
Trump has visited the University of Alabama several times before, most recently to attend a football game between the University of Alabama and University of Georgia in September. He also came to Tuscaloosa to attend football games several times during his first term.
As of right now, it appears likely that University of Alabama engineering student Alireza Doroudi will still be detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement as a result of the Trump administration’s heavy-handed crackdown on international students when the president comes to campus.
The Department of Homeland Security has claimed Doroudi poses “significant national security concerns” but so far has not described what those concerns might be. In a statement to the media, Doroudi’s lawyer stated that “the government has provided no evidence in the record that Mr. Doroudi poses any national security threat” and argued his client was being presumed guilty until proven innocent.
Visits to the university by controversial conservative politicians and speakers are often met with protests by student organizations like the UA College Democrats and Queer Student Association. While no student organizations seems to have released official statements yet on the impending visit, probably due to the late hour it was announced at, another such protest appears almost guaranteed.
UACD president Braden Vick told APR in a text message that “we’re certainly not amused by the Bell administration once again rolling out the red carpet for a fascist who lost this campus twice in a row.”
“Usually, when someone kidnaps one of our students, we don’t let the kidnapper turn our biggest event of the year into a campaign rally,” he added.
The UA College Democrats sought to protest Trump’s visit to campus last September and recent campus protests in support of Palestine and against decisions by the university administration perceived as reducing LGBTQ+ students’ freedoms have drawn dozens of participants each time.
Hundreds of Tuscaloosa residents including members and leaders of UA student organizations also participated in the anti-Trump “Hands Off!” protest outside the city’s federal courthouse earlier this month.
This story will be updated as Tuscaloosa organizations and the University of Alabama release statements.
