No class: Students shout down Betsy DeVos’ graduation speech

It’s graduation season again … meaning it’s time for classless shoutdowns of conservative commencement speakers by (“open-minded”) intolerant college students. Wednesday’s victim was U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who gave an address over a maelstrom of boos and jeers from the graduating class of Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

According to a report at CNN, once the students were done booing, they turned their backs on the public official:

The event was well documented on social media:

The moment when #BethuneCookman graduates united with their backs turned to DeVos pic.twitter.com/lxPCqwgsRG

— New Gene Park 2DS XL (@GenePark) May 10, 2017

DeVos pledges support for HBCUs but continues to face almost non-stop boos from the crowd. Some students still standing #WfTV pic.twitter.com/F5gfJfV7tw

— Michael Lopardi (@MLopardiWFTV) May 10, 2017

Here is video of Betsy DeVos getting booed at the commencement.pic.twitter.com/bnBbbutKuy

— The Shadow League (@ShadowLeagueTSL) May 10, 2017

Education Sec. Betsy DeVos' honorary degree from @bethunecookman met with boos, cheers at commencement this AM pic.twitter.com/iCOaRTzktg

— Craig Stanley (@_CraigStanley) May 10, 2017

Boos are now drowning out DeVos speech at Bethune-Cookman commencement. Watch it here (along w/ 2.4k other people): https://t.co/rdIRAXEkMr pic.twitter.com/AgHrLZ2maZ

— Annie Waldman (@AnnieWaldman) May 10, 2017

Betsy DeVos booed and heckled at #bethunecookman commencement #HBCU #hbcucommencement pic.twitter.com/qT8t7sJlyz

— Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) May 10, 2017

Earlier in the week, 50,000 students sent a petition urging the Daytona Beach school’s administrators to rescind the education secretary’s invitation to speak.

“Having DeVos speak at the commencement ceremony is an insult to the BCU graduating class, students, alumni, family, friends and Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune’s legacy,” it reads. “We, the proud alumni of Bethune-Cookman University, do not want Betsy DeVos to have a seat at our table.”

The petition also cites DeVos’ previously panned statements about historically black colleges and universities, and her student loan policies as reason for why she shouldn’t be heard on campus.

Obviously, the administration did not acquiesce to the petitioners’ demands. And, presented with the option of displaying even a modicum of decorum at their own graduation, the students responded with a chorus of boos.