Nader Challenges Decision to Invite V.P. to Speak at BYU
OREM, Utah - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader drew cheers and applause Thursday as he questioned Brigham Young University’s decision to invite Vice President Dick Cheney to speak at the school’s graduation ceremony.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns BYU, was born of “revelation, rebellion and dissent,” but the church’s contemporary leaders seem to have lost that spirit, Nader said Thursday night at the McKay Events Center at Utah Valley State College. 
He spoke at the co-called “alternative commencement,” which was planned as a counter event to Cheney’s address.
In his address, Nader referred to the decision of the LDS Church’s First Presidency to ask Cheney to speak at commencement - and the subsequent student protests that first had to be approved by administrators.
“We have to ask ourselves,” he said, “what is it about their environment (at BYU) that led them to do this?
“Was it a lack of reflection on the campus? Did it touch something my father asked me when I was 10 years old and I came home from school and he asked me, ‘What did you learn today, Ralph? Did you learn to believe or did you learn to think?”‘
Of the 1,000 people in attendance, about 60 were professors and students donning caps and gowns. One such graduate was political science major Jeannine Plamondon, who also attended Cheney’s speech at the Marriott Center.
“I went to the Cheney one because I went to BYU and it was the official event,” said Plamondon, who will return to her native Canada for a law degree from McGill University in Montreal. “I don’t like Cheney, but I won’t let Cheney ruin my graduation. My parents are here.”
But she also wanted to attend the alternative commencement.
“I think Ralph Nader is a great example,” she said.
As people entered the McKay Events Center they passed tables with literature promoting causes such as the Palestinian “apartheid” in Israel and families of U.S. soldiers who want their children back home.
The event also opened and closed with prayer.
In general, the crowd was more casual than the people who attended the official BYU graduation. The only people who dressed up were family members of graduates.
Murray resident Herbert Wilson learned just two hours before the event that Nader was speaking. “I thought it would be interesting to hear what Nader had to say,” Wilson said. “I think he makes sense.”
“We’re not here because we’re politically against Cheney,” St. George resident Annette Everett said. “We’re here because we’re supporting our son.”
Nader was a presidential candidate in 2000 and 2004 and first gained fame for consumer advocacy. In addition to heralding the “moral courage” of the student organizer of the alternative commencement, he railed against the auto industry, the U.S. tax system, the two-party political system, materialism, minimum wage, health care and false advertising.
Other alternative commencement speakers included former U.S. Senate candidate Pete Ashdown and Jack Healey, who led Amnesty International for 12 years.
They both called the student organizers heroes for the criticism they received from many people in the community. They also lauded them for personal sacrifices made to assemble the program at the same time they were taking final exams.
Student organizer Ashley Sanders, who graduated Thursday in English from BYU, even tried to enroll in a medical test to raise some funds for the event. However, the researchers of the study determined she didn’t qualify to participate.
The event cost $20,000 but was free to the public. Student organizer Eric Bybee emptied his bank account to reserve the McKay Events Center.
Private donors provided the money - $6,000 more than needed, in fact. The extra money will be donated to local charities, Sanders said.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com
© 2007 Deseret News Publishing Company
Complete audio of the alternative commencement can be found here: http://peteashdown.org/media/audio/byu-alt-commencement-20070426.mp3
Thank You!
“I went to the Cheney one because I went to BYU and it was the official event,” said Plamondon, who will return to her native Canada for a law degree from McGill University in Montreal. “I don’t like Cheney, but I won’t let Cheney ruin my graduation. My parents are here.”
The last two sentences sum up the sentiments of the majority of Americans , collegians , military personel …I donèt like the direction that the White House and most Congressmen are leading America to , but donèt ask me to change my comfort zone or that of my parents to force a change in direction .
Of ALL people , university graduates should appreciate that a diligent defence of the Constitution is THE consumate act of an educated citizen and open defiance of the chief architect of Constitution-destruction , Dick Cheney , is the natural manifestation in the form of boisterous protests or silent boycott.
When this lady gets her law degree from McGill she may find that atmosphere in USA more closely resembles the Gulag Archepeligo or the Third Reich than the Land of the Free…
and all lawyers will be prosecuting not defending because defence lawyers will not be allowed contact with their clients.
To paraphrase Gandhi,…you want change…you be the change.
Dear BYU alternative commencement organizers,
YAAAAAAAY!!!!!
I was there at the Military Families Speak Out table. I also produced the red and black “chickenhawk” posters displayed at the east end of the lobby. I gave copies to organizers, Nader, and a couple others. They’re all signed originals. They took a while to make. I’m glad they were appreciated.
Having studied Political Science/International Relations and Security at the U of U, I was well aware of issues leading up to 911, and was most afraid on that day of what the Bush/Cheney cabal would do with it.
Yes, Cheney is a liar- over and over again… and still…
This actually makes me proud of my Mormon heritage. You got back to basics. I’ve been pretty jaded on it, even contemptuous of it for the last 15+ years.
You inspired a lot of people today. Our common future is blessed by your courage and conviction. Thank you.
For the record: Everyone should read “The Grand Chessboard: US Geostrategic Imperatives in the 21st Century”, authored by former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniev Brziznski in 1997 (again 1997) to see the real reasons why the Bush cabal did what it did after 911.
You should also read “Strengthening America’s Defenses” by the neocon Project For a New American Century (of which Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al, were members and signatories), published in 2000 (pre-911), to see how they applied the strategy of taking Afghanistan and Iraq for reasons not disclosed to the American public- specifically, taking control of the world’s “last” viable sources of oil- and the strategic territories of Central Asia (Afghanistan) and the Persian Gulf (Iraq).
It’s about control of the world’s oil supply and of strategic territories from which they could “finish” the global chess game- i.e. conquering the world by force.
I applaud BYU students for standing up to Dick Cheney from the bottom of my heart. I actually got choked up listening to the students speak.
To those courageous students: You are “the change (you) hope to see in the world”.
Ronald White is right. I too stole that line from Gandhi. Take it to heart and proceed. You did very well today.
…and only three weeks to pull it all off. You rock!!
Again, great job. I know that you know what you’re up against.
Sincerely,
Pete Litster
PS: When Bush came to Salt Lake to speak to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in August 2005, we pulled of a large and historic protest with only 5 days lead-time. I hosted the opening meeting and the “after party”. I know some of the pain experienced when these guys come to town.