There's a lot of excitement surrounding the announcement that President Barack Obama will give the commencement speech at Notre Dame in less than two months. But the excitement is not all positive.

In fact, some people are outraged; calling it a compromise of values.

Some students and alumni have voiced their disappointment that the pro-choice president will be speaking at a Catholic university.

So far, thousands of people have signed an online petition to try to get the University to rescind the invitation to the President, and it looks like the protests may become a lot more physical in the coming weeks.

“I thought it sounded fake, it sounded too cool to be true,” said Notre Dame student Daniel Tostado.

For many students, a sitting President coming to campus is a positive thing.

“Pretty excited to see that Notre Dame was where he chose to come to speak,” said student Tyler McQueen.

But some wish it would have been any other school.

“Mr. Obama, and not just Mr. Obama, but a number of our recent U.S. Presidents are people that don’t really embody the values our university is supposed to be centered on,” said sophomore Ben Linskey

Linskey is one of a number of students who voiced their disappointment in the campus newspaper. The disdain goes much further online.

First, the site notredamescandal.com showed up; an online petition to Rev. John Jenkins, protesting the decision.

It cites President Obama’s support of policies that they say contradict the beliefs of the Catholic Church.

According to the website, more than 25,000 people signed the petition in 3 days.

Monday, there was a more pressing announcement. Randall Terry, a well known anti-abortion protester, says his group ‘Operation Rescue’ will be setting up shop in South Bend within a week.

Terry, who has been arrested numerous times for demonstrations involving actual aborted fetuses, says his group will be here protesting until the University’s invitation to the President is rescinded.

When WNDU spoke to him over the phone Monday afternoon, Terry said the campus is the perfect battleground for his anti-abortion cause, one he “had been praying for.”

Terry was also the spokesman for Terry Schiavo's family in 2005.

Even Linskey, who opposes the visit, thinks a protest could be too much of a distraction.

“I'm really disappointed to see that whole thing turn into a three ring circus based on politics,” Linskey said.

“Obviously it’s a special day for a lot of seniors so hopefully protests won’t get in the way of a really important day in their lives,” McQueen said.

“Those people aren't going to win the day. Ultimately it’s going to be about the graduation,” Tostado said.

Terry says an organizer is currently making the drive from Montana to set up here in South Bend. Terry plans to fly here on Friday, and says the whole group plans to be here sometime next week.

He wouldn’t go into detail about what the protests might include, but another group member said they’re planning a sit-in at Rev. Jenkins' office on campus. He says other demonstrations will be aimed to "make life miserable" for those who made the decision.

They say they may push the boundaries of what people consider to be free speech, and many of them are used to being arrested at other protests.

Meanwhile, a University spokesman said the school wasn’t aware of the protesters making their way here, but have policies to deal with protests.

He also said he couldn't foresee the president's invitation being withdrawn.

The University also issued this statement regarding the matter:

“Presidents from both parties have come to Notre Dame for decades to speak to our graduates – and to our nation and world – about a wide range of pressing issues – from foreign policy to poverty, from societal transformation to social service. We are delighted that President Obama will follow in this long tradition of speaking from Notre Dame on issues of substance and significance.

“We will honor Mr. Obama as an inspiring leader who faces many challenges – the economy, two wars, and health care, immigration and education reform – and is addressing them with intelligence, courage and honesty. It is of special significance that we will hear from our first African-American president, a person who has spoken eloquently and movingly about race in this nation. Racial prejudice has been a deep wound in America, and Mr. Obama has been a healer.

“Of course, this does not mean we support all of his positions. The invitation to President Obama to be our Commencement speaker should not be taken as condoning or endorsing his positions on specific issues regarding the protection of human life, including abortion and embryonic stem cell research. Yet, we see his visit as a basis for further positive engagement.”

-Statement from Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame

Follow the links below to websites protesting the decision.