The son of a United Steelworkers (USW) member is leading a Murray (Ky.) State University student protest against their school's choice of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell as this year's graduation speaker May 11.

The lad is Devin Griggs, who won the outstanding labor youth award from the Kentucky State AFL-CIO at the state convention in 2011. He wants to be a union organizer after he graduates.

So far, they have a Facebook page (Ditch Mitch, Murray State) and are circulating an online petition. They are urging students, faculty and alumni to contact the board of regents. They made the local TV news last night.

You can also read Devin’s column about McConnell’s invitation on the Murray State News student newspaper website.

Griggs is opinion editor at the Murray State News and he is running for president of the College Democrats. “But our protest is not connected to the newspaper or confined to the College Democrats,” he said. “This is an independent, grassroots effort and we’re getting a lot of support campus-wide and from alumni.”

Due to graduate in December, Griggs says: 

If Sen. McConnell does end up speaking, at least I won’t have to listen to him.

This warms the cockles of the heart of this 63-year-old Murray State grad, who has a vague recollection of the '60s on college campuses.

Berry Craig, recording secretary for the Paducah-based Western Kentucky AFL-CIO Area Council and a professor of history at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, is a former daily newspaper and Associated Press columnist and currently a member of AFT Local 1360.