Rutgers students want Obama to discuss race, student debt at commencement

Rutgers junior Meryem R. Uzumcu and Rutgers senior Rochel Moskowitz sitting outside the university's student center on College Avenue in New Brunswick on Thursday, April, 14, 2016. Uzumcu and Moskowitz said they are both excited for President Obama to speak at this year's commencement in May, but they said they both wanted to hear him discuss substantive issues.

NEW BRUNSWICK — Rutgers students said they don't just want to hear President Obama speak at this year's commencement, they want him to hear him talk about real issues impacting the nation today.

Pictured left, Marvel Desir, a senior at Rutgers, after signing a petition for the student-let coalition Reclaim Revolution. Also pictured is Meryem R. Uzumcu, a junior at Rutgers and member of the student-led group.Spencer Kent | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

Marvel Desir, a 21-year-old biomedical engineering major, said he's thrilled that the President is speaking at his graduation, but hopes he talks about "tough" issues like the racial divide in the community and police shootings.

"I feel like he should, especially with the turmoil (going on)," Desir said.

The White House announced Thursday that the President would be the speaker at the university's 250th-anniversary commencement to be held at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway on May 15.

Meryem R. Uzumcu, a junior at Rutgers and member of the student-led coalition Reclaim Revolution, was sitting at an outdoor table in front of the student center with her friend Rochel Moskowitz, a senior at Rutgers.

"I'm really excited that Obama is coming for commencement," Uzumcu said. "If this is such a revolutionary year where ... the first time we have a sitting president coming to commencement we should actually have something revolutionary being done on the hands of the administration — like reducing tuition."

Rutgers student Rochel Moskowitz mixed in a bit of scolding for the university's administration with her reaction to the news about the President's upcoming visit to campus.

"There's like this strange dissonance of Rutgers thinking they are like super progressive and having the best interest of their students at hand," Moskowitz said. "When you have Obama speaking at commencement, but you ... aren't really dealing in salient issues, it gets a little strange."

Alexandra Faltyn, a sophomore, said Obama was her favorite president in recent history, and she felt it was fitting for him to speak at this year's anniversary commencement.