University of Arizona Professor Tackles Immigration at Commencement

A controversial immigration law in Arizona took the national stage weeks ago when it was announced. It has prompted responses from every corner of the political spectrum.

One University of Arizona professor spoke rather bluntly about the topic at commencement last week, and her speech has gone viral on the Internet. Sandra Soto is an associate professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and she "openly voiced her disapproval" of Arizona's new immigration laws, the Huffington Post reports.

[Check out our 2010 commencement coverage.]

Soto began her speech talking about the power of the young mind and its ability to solve problems and think critically. Then she mentions the immigration law about halfway through her speech, and the crowd grows rather restless—although, in fairness, she gets a standing ovation from a good amount of students and other attendees, so it wasn't all negative.

You can watch a five-minute clip of the speech here:

It's not clear if the jeering and booing is in disagreement with what she was saying, or just disapproval of her choice of venue. Either way, the speech stirred the pot. Watch the video, read the text of the entire speech in the Huffington Post report, and decide for yourself. 

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