Wednesday, April 18, 2007

BYU Alternative Commencement

>>> "Spencer Kingman" <10497795@uvlink.uvsc.edu> 4/18/2007 3:36 AM >>>
Dear Faculty and Staff of UVSC,

Last month, Brigham Young University invited Vice President Dick Cheney to
speak at the school's April 26 commencement. Because many students, faculty,
alumni, and community members feel that Cheney represents neither their
standards nor those of the university, graduating seniors at BYU have formed
a group called BYU Students for Alternative Commencement. Students at UVSC,
including myself, are aiding their efforts to organize an event protesting
and countering the Vice-President's visit.

The swell of opposition to Vice-President Cheney in Utah County has received
national and international attention. Already, on April 4, protests on the
campus of BYU involved several hundreds of BYU students and faculty.
Furthering this momentum, we are planning an alternative commencement
ceremony. The details of this event are still in negotiation. We have
secured venues, only to have them canceled the same day by administrators
higher up the ladder. Likely speakers include former Amnesty International
director Jack Healey, former U.S.
Senate candidate Pete Ashdown, and citizen activist Ralph Nader.

Sponsoring a large event with distinguished speakers on such short notice is
very time-consuming and costly. In order to bring our speakers out to Utah
and secure a venue we have to raise several thousand dollars in less than
ten days. Through hard work and many generous donors we've already been able
to secure a significant amount in a few short days, but we still need your
help. Please support us by making a donation through Paypal* at
www.byualternativecommencement.com, or by sending cash or check payable to
the "Gene and Charlotte England Education Fund" at Zion's Bank, 1060 North
University Ave. Provo, UT 84604. A donation from you will make it possible
for us to accomplish our goal, and 100% of it will directly support this
event.

Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions, ideas,
or if you know anyone who might be interested in contributing.
We also encourage you to learn more on our website, tell your friends about
the alternative ceremony, and attend on April 26th. Thank you so much for
your consideration and for helping make this event possible. I want to
apologize for any inconvenience or irritation this solicitation may have
caused.


Sincerely,

Spencer Kingman
Member of BYU Students for Alternative Commencement & UVSC United for Peace
and Justice
207 S 600 E
Provo, UT 84606
(646) 407-8427 Mobile
spencerkingman@riseup.net

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