Bart Tippetts, from Mormons for Equality and Social Justice:
"We want to get back to the tradition at BYU... that when we have commencement speakers, we have spiritual leaders that speak to the students of integrity, virtue and going to serve, not a very provocative political leader who may have committed high crimes and misdemeanors."


Part of a KSL Newsclip of April 26, 2006:

The vice president's visit has spawned a series of peaceful protests, most visible Thursday afternoon at the entrance of the Brigham Young University campus.

click on picture for enlargement

A few groups turned out there with sharp words and sharply-worded signs. There was a pretty decent crowd Thursday morning by the main gate of the BYU campus. Roughly 100 people staged protests against the vice president and against the administration's policies.

Protesters came to send a message about everything from the war to torture to the trampling of civil rights, to issues of corruption and incompetence.

One group was organized by the College Democrats and another by a group of military veterans. Organizers tell us these demonstrations are aimed at showing that even in the reddest city in the reddest state, there is deep displeasure with the Bush administration.

BYU senior Elisa Bushman says, "I believe in peace and that the people in Iraq and other places are my brothers and sisters, and I feel like we need to try and help them, take care of them rather than destroying their country as we've done. I just (think) what he's done is very inappropriate, and the way he treats people isn't something that represents our country."

Diane Bailey, who is one of the students who organized the protest, says, "We're trying to send a message that you can support peace and be a Mormon and that Vice President Dick Cheney lied us into this war in Iraq, and that it was a voluntary war and not a necessary war."

Bart Tippetts, from Mormons for Equality and Social Justice:
"We want to get back to the tradition at BYU... that when we have commencement speakers, we have spiritual leaders that speak to the students of integrity, virtue and going to serve, not a very provocative political leader who may have committed high crimes and misdemeanors."

The war wasn't the only thing people were protesting. Salt Lake City resident Darrell Smith says, "A lot of us are protesting torture by Bush and Cheney. We've never had torture before Bush and Cheney, I believe."

This protest was slightly smaller than one held on campus a couple of weeks ago. Students say it's because classes are over, and many students have already left campus for the summer.

Mostly the demonstrators were politely received. There were a few angry comments out of car windows, but other people driving by honked and waved in approval. Police reported no problems.

Mary Helen Medina emailed MESJ some great pictures.

Watch some more pictures about the earlier protests at BYU.

Dayne Goodwin wrote the following report:
For the last month since they learned about it, a courageous group of
Brigham Young University graduating seniors have campaigned against
their university administration's decision to accept Vice President Dick Cheney's offer to be this year's commencement speaker.
They spoke out in opposition and started a petition campaign asking
the university administration to reconsider. Over 3,000 students,
alumni and some faculty signed the petition. When they asked for an
appointment to present the petition the university administration said
they wouldn't have time to meet until after the
graduation/commencement ceremony. The thousand plus BYU students who
signed the petition have been put on a blacklist by local, BYU and
Mormon-church related employers.
At the two (i think unprecedented) on-campus protests of about three
hundred students, organized under severe restrictions, they
demonstrated impressive political sagacity and combativity. I was
impressed by the student shown in a local media photograph wearing a
hand-made "Enemy Combatant" t-shirt. At the second of these protests
yesterday, the Utah Veterans for Peace solidarized from across the
street, just off BYU property, led by chapter president and BYU
alumnus Aaron Davis.
The BYU students decided to organize an "Alternative Commencement" but
were refused every possible public and private venue within the city of
Provo where BYU is located. They raised over $20,000 and rented the
special events center at Utah Valley State College (now becoming Utah
Valley University) which is about two miles away from BYU across the
Provo boundary into the neighboring city of Orem.
A good portion of the money went to bring in the keynote Alternative
Commencement speaker Ralph Nader. They screened the new
film on Nader, "An Unreasonable Man," at a fundraiser.
About 2,000 students and community supporters (activist groups, many
from Salt Lake City about 30 miles to the north, were invited to
table) gathered last night for the Alternative Commencement program.
The ceremony began with the ritual "Pomp and Circumstance " music and
about fifty graduating students marching to take their seats in their
caps and gowns. Other graduating students straggled in with what were
apparently sometimes curious, sometimes reluctant family members fresh
from the official commencement.
Graduating BYU students Eric Bybee and Ashley Sanders gave
introductory remarks for the program which included two other guest
speakers, former Amnesty International USA director Jack Healey and
Pete Ashdown, the Democratic Party candidate against incumbent Utah
Senator Orrin Hatch in the last election. Gabe Dominguez of San
Francisco sang his "Protest the War" song, BYU student John Kovalenko
played the violin, and other students gave opening and closing
prayers.