Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security and a former governor of South Dakota, was met with opposition when she was presented with an honorary doctorate at Dakota State University in Madison on Saturday, coincidentally the day that the university was holding its commencement ceremonies.
The nomination of Noem as this year’s commencement speaker was met with opposition by protesters who brought posters to express their disapproval of the decision. With regard to President Donald Trump’s strict immigration agenda and his efforts to deport large numbers of people, the secretary has been at the vanguard of these initiatives.
An individual who participated in the demonstration, Susan Wicks, stated to Dakota News Now that “we do not believe that she is somebody that deserves any kind of honor from anybody.” The Constitution is being violated by her at this very moment, as she is deporting individuals to foreign detention centers without providing them with any form of due process.
John Nelson, a fellow demonstrator, was quoted as saying, “I believe that she has recently demonstrated that she is a tool of the Trump administration and that she is implementing policies that go against the Constitution of the United States.”
Wicks continued by saying that the institution “didn’t listen to the town, the faculty, or their students, and we think that’s abhorrent.”
The honorary degree in public service that Noem was awarded was presented to him at the Dakota State Fieldhouse. The institution referred to the work that Noem had done in lobbying for the university and the programs that it offers that are focused on cybersecurity.
During the ceremony, José-Marie Griffiths, the President of Dakota State University, stated that Noem, in his capacity as Governor of South Dakota, “was always ready to listen to our proposals, ask insightful questions to learn more about our plans, and was eager to move forward to support those initiatives.”
A number of students made the decision to abstain from attending the ceremony. Max Lerchen, who had graduated with a master’s degree in business administration, was one among the individuals who participated in the event. He had considered showing up to protest since he was against the selection of Noem “from the very beginning.”
The statement that Lerchen made to Dakota News Now was as follows: “This is a degree that I’ve worked hard for, and many others have worked hard for.” Despite the fact that I agree with the decision of those individuals to abstain from participating and that I appreciate them for utilizing their voices in such a manner, I did not want to give Secretary Noem the authority to make judgments concerning my accomplishments and my day, and I am very pleased to see that many other people have also made the same choice.
“I wanted to make sure that I spent the day with my friends and my family, the people who supported me, and I wanted to make sure that I still celebrated regardless of the decision that was made,” he continued.
The students who chose to demonstrate reported that they were unable to enter the university facilities where they had put their signs because they were locked out.
However, Lerchen stated that he did not believe that it was done intentionally.
“When they are not being used, a significant number of our facilities located in this area are locked. As he explained to Dakota News Now, “that is not an unusual occurrence.”
An additional statement that he made was that the university “made a decision that I disagree with to select and honor Secretary Noem with a degree, but I do not think any of the actions by the university were meant to be malicious.”