On Thursday March 28, 2007 Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at the commencement of Brigham Young University. The speech which the Vice President gave was void of politics. Brigham Young University is run by the Church of Latter Day Saints which makes it one of the most conservative schools. Also the University is located in Utah one of the reddest states. Those circumstances make the reaction to the chosen commencement speaker shocking and quite controversial.
The day before the commencement the College Democrats gathered outside the BYU library for a sit in to protest the commencement. Simultaneously across the street the Student Republican group also protested. It is important to note that not all students protesting Cheney are Democrats. Some of the students at the protest recognized the moment to show political diversity within the University. One Republican student at the sit in said “"He made some horribly misleading arguments linking Iraq to attacks on 9/11, We are Mormons and are subject to kings, rulers and magistrates, but we're also upholding the right of popular sovereignty." The more than 200 student protest was not the only action taken by those opposing the Cheney choice.
An alternative commencement was planned and organized by students. Hundreds of students attended the alternative commencement on the same day. The students raised 26, 000 dollars in nine days in order to have alternative speakers. Speakers at the alternative commencement were former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Pete Ashdown, ex-Amnesty International director Jack Healey and consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Nader commented on Cheney’s speech by saying “He avoided a political speech, and I think that was sending a message right there. You can wave the flag, and surround a deadly, boomeranging war with patriotic symbols. He could've done that.”
This situation is pretty telling that change is wanted amongst many, even those who many would expect the opposite from. It is somewhat comforting that even in the reddest of states there are those who disagree with current policy. Is graduation a time to make a political statement though?
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5 comments:
Good for them, for having both courage and convictions.
Is it appropriate... at graduation?
Is it ever appropriate to protest, anywhere?
Why is a graduation ceremony sacrosanct?
What you're talking about is the line of thought that leads to fenced off (fenced in) "free speech zones"--far from the scene of what is being protested. Which renders a protest effectively meaningless and muzzles free speech.
The right to free speech, the right to assemble freely... those are fundamental political rights, not privileges. They should not be infringed on without the utmost necessity and then infringed as minimally as possible. This should NEVER mean moving protesters away from the scene, so that others don't have to see them or hear them.
There is no right to not be offended. There is no right to not be annoyed because someone else has a political opinion.
Using "private" (non-profit, corporate) property to support free speech from one individual/perspective, and at the same time using the same organization's 'rights' to suppress the dissent and opinions of others is heinous, and simply wrong.
Infringements on free speech should be undertaken as warily and suspiciously as infringements on personal liberty. It is the backbone of a free society.
I feel that having the Vice President there to speak is a political statement to some degree. So, yes, it's just fine to have your opinion heard in such a way.
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