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Protests Erupt Over DeVos Commencement Address

University of Baltimore website

BALTIMORE (AP) - Some University of Baltimore students are speaking out against their scheduled fall commencement speaker: Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

A crowd of students filed into a courtyard near the school on Monday, holding protest signs that read "support public schools #neverDeVos" and "We are DeVos-stated."

University of Baltimore President Kurt Schmoke sent a letter to the student body explaining why he believes she is a good choice.

Schmoke's cousin, Julian Schmoke Jr., a former for-profit college official, was recently tapped to head a unit within the U.S. Education Department that focuses on fraud in higher education.

Kurt Schmoke said DeVos's upcoming speech and his cousin's recent employment within the agency are unrelated.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.