Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos gave a commencement speech at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. As the video below shows, DeVos didn't initially receive a warm reception from students, some of whom turned their backs as she spoke.

DeVos persisted despite the booing and shouting. Her recognition of a few inspiring student stories during her speech eventually quelled most of the protests and led to applause instead.

Bethune-Cookman students had protested the news DeVos would appear at their commencement so she was braced for dissent and addressed critics in the opening of her speech. However, the heckling grew loud enough at one point to provoke Bethune-Cookman President Edison O. Jackson to warn students to cease or their "degrees would be mailed to them."

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8/26/17 - Atlanta, GA - Georgia leaders, including Gov. Nathan Deal, Sandra Deal, members of the King family, and Rep. Calvin Smyre,  were on hand for unveiling of the first statue of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday at the statehouse grounds, more than three years after Gov. Nathan Deal first announced the project.  During the hour-long ceremony leading to the unveiling of the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the state Capitol on Monday, many speakers, including Gov. Nathan Deal, spoke of King's biography. The statue was unveiled on the anniversary of King's famed "I Have Dream" speech. BOB ANDRES  /BANDRES@AJC.COM

Credit: Bob Andres