Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) delivered his first official 2016 presidential campaign speech Monday during a convocation ceremony at Liberty University, a religious institution in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The room was packed for Cruz's speech, but the crowd wasn't all there just to applaud the senator's big announcement, which was first shared on Twitter. Some of the students who witnessed the launch of Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign were, in the words of Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, only in attendance so they wouldn’t get fined.

Convocation is a mandatory Monday, Wednesday and Friday event for Liberty students -- and they are penalized with fines if they skip an assembly.

Full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/23/ted-cruz-liberty-university_n_6924752.html