I hope liberal colleges are paying attention! Students, professors and alumni at "one of the most conservative colleges in the country" -- in the reddest of the Red States -- say WTF to the prospect of Dick Cheney delivering the commencement speech at their school.
Petition drives, boycotts, alternative ceremonies and protests are in the works!
In part, the petition reads:
"Cheney has made misleading statements about the tragic war which continues in Iraq, levied outrageous partisan accusations against his Democratic opponents, and used vulgarity on the Senate floor. He has been linked to serious scandals involving botched intelligence reports, no-bid contracts awarded to friends and political donors, and perjury convictions handed down to his own staff. "
See the online petition here.
Washington Wire:
A petition drive is under way at Brigham Young University to withdraw an invitation for Cheney to speak at commencement later this month. Critics at the school question whether he sets a good example for graduates, citing his promotion of faulty intelligence before the Iraq war and his role in the CIA leak scandal.
The private university, which is owned by the Mormon church, has “a heavy emphasis on personal honesty and integrity in all we do,'’ said Warner Woodworth, a professor at BYU’s business school. “Cheney just doesn’t measure up.'’
The Associated Press reports that Woodworth is helping organize an online petition asking that the school rescind its invitation to the vice president. In its first week, the petition collected more than 2,300 signatures, mostly from people describing themselves as students, alumni or members of the church.
Cheney’s office said his commencement speech would not have a political theme.
Dick sans a political theme, yeah, and, um, we're making progress in Iraq too.
"As someone who's been heavily involved and advocated for things like torturing prisoners, and what-not, I just feel like that doesn't coincide with a Christian university." - BYU student Eric Bybee, quoted in Utah's Big Dick Cheney Problem, at Yahoo News
Also see:
LatterGaySaint Blog
Mercury Rising
Michael Moore
Uncommon Notions
Dick Cheney Brigham Young Politics News Bush Utah Campus Activism Anti War
