Posted on 04/25/2007 4:34:18 PM PDT by maui_hawaii
PROVO — Brigham Young University will bestow on Vice President Dick Cheney an honorary degree Thursday when he speaks at the university's commencement exercises, a decision that further frustrated Cheney's opponents on campus.
BYU and its board of trustees will give Cheney an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service and award honorary doctorates to four long-time university supporters.
The other recipients are Ira Fulton, Honorary Doctorate of Engineering; Mary Lou Fulton, Honorary Doctorate of Education; and Jack R. and Mary Lois Wheatley, Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters.
A number of professors and students who either opposed Cheney's visit or welcomed the visit while criticizing the vice president's policies had said that if BYU chose to bestow an honorary degree on Cheney, it would feel to them like an endorsement of Cheney's policies by the university and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns the school.
"There are a number of faculty and students who are shocked and surprised and dismayed that Mr. Cheney will not only be honored as a commencement speaker but also receive an honorary degree from BYU," business professor Warner Woodworth said. "I believe this is the first time in BYU history the school has so honored a commencement speaker who is in the process of being impeached by Congress."
Cheney will arrive in Utah Thursday at 1:55 p.m. and meet with the First Presidency of the church at 2:30. Commencement begins at 4 p.m.
The visit with the First Presidency is the norm for international leaders who visit Utah. Church and BYU spokesmen said the honorary degree is not an endorsement of Cheney's policies.
Meanwhile, the White House, Secret Service, BYU, media and others are preparing feverishly for Thursday's visit by the vice president of the United States, who on Tuesday was called President Bush's "attack dog" by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.
Cheney will speak under a blanket of heavy security and amid rallies for and against him.
Reid, a member of the LDS Church, will speak at BYU on Nov. 27.
Cheney and Reid obviously weren't thinking about dueling appearances in Provo when they railed against each other Tuesday, but to Utahns the give-and-take might have seemed as though two boxers were hyping an upcoming fight.
Cheney attacked Reid for saying last week that Democrats would win more seats in Congress in the next election because the war in Iraq is lost.
"It is cynical to say the war is lost because it gives you political advantage," Cheney said.
Reid fired right back.
"The president sends out his attack dog often, (who is) also known as Dick Cheney, and he was here again today attacking not only me but the Democratic caucus. The president is in a state of denial."
The doors at the Marriott Center will open at 1 p.m. when the first of an expected crowd of 21,000 will file through metal detectors. More than 6,000 students will be awarded degrees during the week's graduation exercises.
Tickets are required, and all attendees must be in their seats by 3:30 p.m. Once inside the Marriott Center, no one will be allowed to leave and re-enter. The annual processional to the Marriott Center has been canceled.
BYU is providing refreshments and a blend of live and prerecorded entertainment for the crowd. At 1:30 p.m., the popular student a capella group Vocal Point will sing. Other entertainers will include soloists from the BYU Young Ambassadors, who leave on tour Monday for Hong Kong and China, and the BYU Dancers Company, which leaves Saturday for Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, said John Lewis, BYU vice president for alumni and external relations.
The live entertainment will be interspersed with recorded pieces like the student Oscar-winning short films produced by BYU animation students.
Graduates were allotted four tickets apiece. Late last week, those who wanted additional tickets were allowed to pick up two more. About 1,000 remaining tickets were offered to the BYU campus community on Monday, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said.
Those who can't attend can watch the commencement live on KBYU-TV Channel 11 in Utah and on BYU Television on cable or satellite stations, or listen live on KBYU-FM 89.1 or BYU Radio on the air or the Web.
The commencement exercises will be rebroadcast Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (MDT) on BYU Television. The event also will be available through video-on-demand to Comcast digital cable subscribers in Utah from Saturday through May 4, Jenkins said.
Security measures will not restrict parking, which will be the same as it has been for past commencements or basketball games. Visitors will be able to park at the Marriott Center or at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Parking also could be available on campus. Most of the university will shut down at noon — classes ended April 17 and finals end today — so employees can go home and the public can access the campus, Jenkins said.
The BYU Bookstore and Cougareat will remain open, as will the Museum of Art.
Provo and BYU are coordinating with the Secret Service, and the city will have more police officers than normal on duty, Provo chief administrative officer Wayne Parker said.
If anything its a disapproval of the way these stupidity prone protestors are conducting themselves.
The protestors violate the very essence of how one should treat someone, especially a guest, whether or not you like them or not is not the question.
A [small] number of professors and students who either opposed Cheney's visit...
"There [is] a [small] number of faculty and students who are shocked and surprised and dismayed...
Fixed it.
Good news! Thanks for your service to this great nation, Dick Cheney!
Cheney getting an honorary degree. Take that Reidy boy and put it in your pipe and smoke it.
"It is cynical to say the war is lost because it gives you political advantage," Cheney said.
Reid fired right back.
"The president sends out his attack dog often, (who is) also known as Dick Cheney, and he was here again today attacking not only me but the Democratic caucus. The president is in a state of denial."
Notice Cheney's statement had substance, while Reid's did not.
Cheney say, "They're dissing the war to get a political advantage." A statement with a premise that can be tested.
Ried comes back with, "They're always picking on me!" Worthless.
This is nearly 24 hours from now.
It’s still 50-50 that he won’t get it.
Well, maybe Vice President Cheney can work as a professor after Denis Kucinich impeaches him! LOL
If giving VP Cheney a degree pisses off the people it is going to predicably piss off, then I would be willing to contribute money to make it happen.
As the Big Lib Martha Stewart says...”It’s a Good Thing”...
Excellent Point!
Even the Deseret News fudges on saying just how many protesters there are. Unbelievable. Tens of thousands will be there supporting Cheney while the protesters will likely manage fewer than 500 and most of them will not be from BYU.
It will be interesting to see if there are any consequences for “business professor Warner Woodworth.”
His paychecks come from BYU, and BYU is generally inclined to discontinue such paychecks to employees who publicly denounce BYU and its policies and actions. Same thing I’d do if an employee of a business I own did that to me/his employer....
:}
BYU is just a 20 minute bike ride from my house. From a voice on the ground, “What protest?”
They got several thousand dollars from Daily Kos to help them pay for their “alternative commencement.”
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