WATCH: Betsy DeVos Showered In Boos While Delivering Commencement Speech


Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s completely unqualified Education Secretary, faced a tough crowd today. DeVos was invited to speak at the graduation ceremony for Bethune-Cookman University, an historically black university (HBCU) in Daytona Beach, FL. She was met with a chorus of boos as she tried to speak, prompting an attempted intervention from university president Edison Jackson and at least one student being escorted from the premises, according to CNN.

The crowd started getting loud almost as soon as DeVos was announced. Students stood and turned their back on her when she stepped up to the lectern. She spoke for a bit to some random jeering, but this remark is what really set the crowd off:

One of the hallmarks of higher education, and of democracy, is the ability to converse with and learn from those with whom we disagree.”

She should probably have that discussion with the man who put her in power.

The crowd ripped into her for the remark, prompting Jackson to step up to the microphone with a threat:

“If this behavior continues, your degrees will be mailed to you. Choose which way you want to go.”

For the most part, the raucous crowd settled for most of DeVos’ speech, which was supposed to run for an hour but wrapped after about twenty minutes. There were still boos throughout, and one student, a sophomore, was escorted out by security.

Students had been voicing concerns for weeks after DeVos was announced as a graduation speaker, and that she would be receiving an honorary doctorate from the university. In February, DeVos infamously made this statement about HBCUs to defend her stance on championing school vouchers:

“[HBCUs] are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and great quality. Their success has shown that more options help students flourish.”

The small flaw in this remark is that HBCUs were not just an option for black students – they were often the only option due to segregation and admission standards. This is not the only clueless remark DeVos has made about education in her short time in the spotlight with Team Trump.

DeVos is a huge proponent of charter schools and voucher programs – two programs that tend to fail. Watch the graduates of Bethune-Cookman University vocalize how they feel about her below:

Featured Image via YouTube screengrab.