Students Boo, Turn Their Backs on DeVos at Bethune-Cookman Speech

[dixiegrrrrl]

Betsy DeVos, the U.S. education secretary, drew loud boos on Wednesday from attendees at Bethune-Cookman University’s commencement ceremony, where she delivered the keynote address. Many graduating students in the audience also turned their backs on her as she spoke.

At one point, the president of the university, Edison O. Jackson, interrupted Ms. DeVos to warn protesting students that if they continued to boo, “your degrees will be mailed to you.”

Ms. DeVos did not directly acknowledge the protests in her address at the historically black university, though she did say the Trump administration would “continue to support” HBCUs.

http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/students-boo-turn-their-backs-on-devos-at-bethune-cookman-speech/118303

[coco22]

1. Thank you students!

RESIST!!!

[Sophiegirl]

2. Darn!!

I was hoping for video.

[sheshe2]

10. Just saw the video on CNN!

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

So mail it. You can't expect people to happily choke on the shit coming from DeVos.

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Was Thinking The Same, Solly

I didn't even go to commencement. All 4 times. Just mail me the thing.

And, if they're already there, what kind of empty threat is that? I don't the Uni president thought his statement all the way through

[Solly Mack]

16. The kind of empty threat that asserted his authority no matter how ineffectual.

There's a lot of that going around today in D.C..

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Yeah, Fair Enough!

Bluster with little substance.

[NCTraveler]

4. Being near Trump has become flat out toxic.

That is going to make the ship sink even quicker as no competent person will take a job with the administration. Not that they are looking for competence in the first place.

[obamanut2012]

5. I am still shocked an HBCU did this

Not just because WHAT TEH ACTUAL FUCK IT IS DEVOS, but also how Trump has said he is cutting out funding for HBCUs.

What THE HELL was BC's Admin thinking?!

And fuck that traitor Jackson -- he cannot withhold diplomas. Treating adults like they are tantrum-throwing children.

[Alice11111]

30. Who invited her to give the commencement speech? Seems sgrange that she was there.

[obamanut2012]

38. The President, who is black

It is appalling.

[Alice11111]

40. Maybe DT enlisted him too. A college Prez can't be

That stupid and politically insensitive. Geez, he kind of pissed on the graduating class...sorry he ruined their special day...but proud they stood up.

[aikoaiko]

6. Good job, students! You learned well.

[demmiblue]

7. The president is an arse.

This is THEIR commencement, inviting DeVos despite the legitimate concerns/feelings of many of the graduates is such a shite move.

[ProudLib72]

8. Would have been great

if they had all just stood up at once, said, "Mail us our degrees", and left.

[Blue_Tires]

9. k+r

[demmiblue]

11. Video:

Look at the stance/body language of several of the faculty members. Wow!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

24. Beauteous!

👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[suffragette]

12. Here's brief video of them booing and turning their backs. Good on them for expressing

Their dissent.

https://m.

[Ilsa]

13. Turn your chairs around, face the other direction,

and softly sing The Battle Hymn of the Republic or This Land is Your Land

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Good!

First Amendment and all that.

[JHan]

17. a real "after all I've done for you people" moment..

I come to your Uni, agreed to give a speech, yeah I'm full of shit but still.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Excellent reference.

Giving Duh Vos an honorary degree cheapens their degrees, IMHO.

[Alice11111]

31. I just don't get it...why would they give her anything? Why was she there?

Are they sucking up out of fear that DT may unfund them?

[obamanut2012]

39. I actually think BCC's President is who did that

He needs to be fired, both for inviting DeVos, and for speaking to the graduates and their families like that.

[benld74]

20. MIC DROP

[Mr. Ected]

21. The Trump Team lives in a bubble. They should stay in the bubble until we pop it for them.

In the meantime, every time they leave their bubble, they're reviled and protested.

Says a lot about the verity of their positions.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

22. YAAAY STUDENTS!! We are with you!!

RESIST ✊🏾

[iluvtennis]

25. ++++ agree

[Gamecock Lefty]

23. Their diplomas will be mailed to them???

The hell with that. They EARNED those diplomas. They'll get them right there.

Damn the establishment.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

26. Any number of schools mail the diplomas already.

Big deal.

[Alice11111]

32. Mine were all mailed to me...4, even JD and HS.

Not exactly sure why, but maybe there was no one around who cared to go, like family, or even myself. It's a much bigger celebration these days, as it seems I'm being invited right and left, and they go on for days. Same w weddings. Commercialized. Plus, if families and friends travel far, it is a reunion.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

33. If there are more than some number of students,

it becomes logistically difficult to make sure the correct diploma is handed to the graduate. Unless they are all lined up alphabetically. Or they know the order in which the kids are lined up so the diplomas can be set up the same way. Since most of the time the order is quite random, mailing them is probably the norm.

[Alice11111]

36. Maybe tbe Oscars should consider mailing to get it right

[Fritz Walter]

27. Jackson should be grateful...

...that the students didn't bring eggs or tomatoes with them.
They were, however, wearing shoes. And I wouldn't have blamed them one bit for giving the Bitch DeVos the same treatment that W received almost nine years ago!

[Cha]

28. It would be worth getting a degree mailed.. whose

Machiavellian idea was this to have her there?

Mahalo to all the Students who protested!

[cemaphonic]

29. Yeah, some threat.

I'd frame the envelope and hang it next to the diploma.

[Alice11111]

37. That's what I don't get too, but thank you to the brave ones who turned away.

[fishwax]

34. good on the students

DeVos is profoundly unqualified for her position, but seems intent on not letting that keep her from working hard to undermine the integrity of public education in this country. I'm proud of the students for not taking that bullshit sitting down.

[niyad]

35. WHY was she even invited in the first place? surely the admin could have found a suitable

person.

[ecstatic]

42. +1000. nt

[Best_man23]

41. Had I been there

I would have said, fine, mail it to me. Better that than shaking that woman's hand.