Citing in part his support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, students at the University of Alabama in Huntsville are protesting U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions as the keynote speaker at spring graduation.

A petition on Change.org points to an array of reasons Sessions should not be welcome as the graduation speaker but primarily focuses on his growing ties with Trump, the GOP front runner.

Sessions is chair of the Trump campaign's National Security Advisory Committee and has been a strong influence on Trump's immigration policies. Sessions, who arranged a meeting between Trump and GOP leaders earlier this month in Washington, has also been speculated as a vice presidential candidate.

Despite the petition, posted over the weekend and now with 315 signatures by midday Monday, the school stood by its decision to tap Sessions as the graduation speaker for the May 1 event at the Von Braun Center.

"The Honorable Jeff Sessions has ably served the people of Alabama as United States Senator since 1997, and was the unanimous choice for Commencement speaker of a diverse selection committee that represents students, faculty and staff," the school said in a statement to AL.com. "As a university that values inclusiveness, we welcome Senator Sessions with the respect and civility that he and his office deserve."

Dalton Hicks, a UAH junior majoring in aerospace engineering who, along with girlfriend and UAH graduate Victoria Forrester, started the petition, acknowledged that preventing Sessions from speaking may not be possible.

"Getting things to change in such a quick manner like this may not be feasible," Hicks told AL.com on Monday. "We do want to put forward the message that a large part of the student population did not agree with this decision. If they are able to remove him as the speaker and replace him with someone who is more indicative of the whole of UAH, the diversity of UAH, that would be amazing.

"But at least this gets the information to them that this wasn't OK, you kind of dropped the ball here, you could have done a lot better with the speaker and you didn't. It just lets them know to try not to do this again."

In the petition stated that Sessions' presence as the speaker "only enrages the student body and in no way represents the whole of this University."

"It is known that Republican Presidential Candidate Donald J. Trump has said many inflammatory remarks towards women, the disabled, and immigrants," the petition states in part. "All of which are populations not to be forgotten at this university. Whereas, Donald J. Trump has proposed a large amount of cuts and downsizing of the Department of Education that will likely interfere with the federal funds necessary to run our beautiful institution and provide students the opportunity of a higher education. This in turn will cause a rise in the cost of attendance of an establishment of higher education which runs counter to the wishes of the student body at this university.

"While we as students at this university understand that listening to all voices can allow for better communication of ideas and an equal understanding of all views, this Commencement Ceremony is not the time or place for such. This speech is something to inspire and send off students to the larger world. You want to leave them motivated and driven and we believe that this choices only enrages the student body and in no way represents the whole of this University."

Hicks said that Sessions' voting record on higher education funding, his support of Trump and his lack of support for LGBT citizens played roles in starting the petition.

He also said that Sessions did not measure up to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, the December graduation ceremony speaker.

"Either the university was blind to that or somebody messed up something along the line or there is some other underlying reason," Hicks said. "That doesn't gel with us, the students."

Updated March 28, 2016, at 4:27 p.m. with comments from UAH junior Dalton Hicks.