Ahead of Sunday's commencement address, President Joe Biden consulted for weeks with prominent Black public figures, and White House officials traveled to the Morehouse College campus to talk to students and faculty and try to allay their concerns.
During a meeting in early May, about half of the two-hour conversation focused on the conflict in Gaza, one source said. Stephen Benjamin, director of the White House public engagement office, said he and the students had a wide-ranging conversation, which again included the conflict in the Middle East.
Students are also concerned that their achievements will be overshadowed by a campaign speech, according to people familiar with the discussions. They have expressed frustration that the format of the event and the level of security required for such a high-profile visit resulted in limited tickets for family members, many of whom must watch from an overflow room.
Biden's scheduled appearance at Morehouse is a shift in strategy as the president has largely avoided addressing large crowds of young people on college campuses, a change that came shortly after his January comments on the right to abortion at George Mason University in Virginia were interrupted more than a dozen times by protesters outraged by their continued support for Israel in its war in Gaza.
The Middle East conflict sparked more than 1,360 student demonstrations on campuses across the country from October 7 to May 3, according to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
“I understand that people have strong feelings of deep convictions,” Biden said during brief remarks from the White House during campus protests earlier this month. “In the United States, we respect and protect their right to express it. But that doesn't mean anything goes.”
