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New College of Florida graduation: Boos for Joe Ricketts, cheers for student president
EDUCATION
New College of Florida graduation: Boos for Joe Ricketts, cheers tfor student president
Steven Walker
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
New College of Florida graduated its senior class Friday at a ceremony with scattered boos and jeers directed at the evening’s commencement speaker: conservative billionaire Joe Ricketts.
In a technical difficulty-filled speech cut off early by New College President Richard Corcoran, Ricketts talked about how he earned his wealth and warned the graduates about the challenges of artificial intelligence. As the billionaire founder of TD Ameritrade spoke, the student section would erupt in boos, chant “free Palestine” and expletives. Students also wore stoles bearing the flag of Palestine, following a national trend of higher education protests against the war in Gaza.
“They don’t care,” Ricketts said to Corcoran on stage after stopping his speech. “I hate it, but they really don’t care what I have to say.”
Ricketts previously launched an online degree program at New College in January, and emails from Ricketts containing racist and Islamophobic sentiments leaked in 2019, which drew criticism and backlash.
{snip}
New College of Florida graduation: Boos for Joe Ricketts, cheers tfor student president
Steven Walker
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
New College of Florida graduated its senior class Friday at a ceremony with scattered boos and jeers directed at the evening’s commencement speaker: conservative billionaire Joe Ricketts.
In a technical difficulty-filled speech cut off early by New College President Richard Corcoran, Ricketts talked about how he earned his wealth and warned the graduates about the challenges of artificial intelligence. As the billionaire founder of TD Ameritrade spoke, the student section would erupt in boos, chant “free Palestine” and expletives. Students also wore stoles bearing the flag of Palestine, following a national trend of higher education protests against the war in Gaza.
“They don’t care,” Ricketts said to Corcoran on stage after stopping his speech. “I hate it, but they really don’t care what I have to say.”
Ricketts previously launched an online degree program at New College in January, and emails from Ricketts containing racist and Islamophobic sentiments leaked in 2019, which drew criticism and backlash.
{snip}
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