Press Release and Screening

Just wanted to keep everybody up on what's going on. There will be a double screening of "An Unreasonable Man" and "This Divided State" on Friday night at midnight as a fundraiser for the students putting together the alternative commencement ceremony.

Here is the press release we sent out this morning with all the pertinent info:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Bryan Young and Steven Greenstreet

'DIVIDED STATE' AND 'UNREASONABLE MAN' TO SCREEN AT BYU ALTERNATIVE COMMENCEMENT FUNDRAISER

Provo, Utah – ShineBox Media Productions announced today a special screening of their film "This Divided State", which will play alongside the documentary "An Unreasonable Man" on Friday, April 20 at midnight.
The screening, to be held at the University Mall Cinemas in Orem, is part of a fundraiser for the Brigham Young University Students for Alternative Commencement. BYU Students for Alternative Commencement is a grassroots effort comprised of BYU students, faculty, alumni, and friends from the community who are protesting Vice President Dick Cheney's commencement speech at BYU. Directly after the official university commencement on April 26th, students and community members will march from Provo's Memorial Park to a yet-to-be-determined location. Once there, the audience will hear speeches from former Presidential candidate and renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader, former U.S. Senate candidate Pete Ashdown, and human rights activist Jack Healey. The event is not a convocation exercise, but a speaking event for the entire Utah community.
The screenings will be free, but donations are being accepted to defray the costs of the speakers, their travel, lodging and other associative costs.
"An Unreasonable Man", directed by Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan, takes a look at the career of Ralph Nader from his multiple bids for president to his status as a public pariah. It screened at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
"This Divided State", the critically-acclaimed, award-winning documentary directed by Steven Greenstreet, chronicles the firestorm in Utah County after students at Utah Valley State College invited liberal filmmaker Michael Moore to speak on campus just two weeks before the incredibly divisive 2004 presidential election. Many are comparing the events surrounding Cheney's visit with those that transpired in the same community three years earlier. "The protests and the debates seem to be a little more civil this time around. There aren't any lawsuits or death threats flying around like when Michael Moore came, so that's good," said Greenstreet, "It's amazing that Utah has become such a hub for political discourse. It kind of erases the stigma that it's simply a homogeneous, 'red' state. It's changing and evolving. Progressing, as it were."
Producer Bryan Young added that "it's interesting to see this sea-change of political support. Three years ago this was the most conservative community in the country and even here, although Cheney's support hasn't eroded even below the 50% mark, people are fed up enough with both the administration and the war to lead protests as significant as these being planned."
Greenstreet, Young and others involved with the film will be on hand to answer questions after the screening. University Mall Cinemas is located at 959 South 700 East in Orem, to the North of University Mall. The doors will open at 11:30 pm.

More information can be found at www.thisdividedstate.com and www.byualternativecommencement.com .

# # #

I've already been contacted by a couple of news outlets about this, leading me to believe it's going to be pretty big. So, you should probably most definitely come.

Donate some money, too.

RALPH NADER: Faith, Accountability and Protest

Faith, Accountability and Protest in Utah

Cheney and the BYU 25

By RALPH NADER

Could anyone have imagined that the major commencement protest at a University graduation thus far occurred April 26 at Brigham Young University (BYU)? Probably not.

But then could anyone have imagined that the Vice President, with the lowest approval rating in modern American history, would request and receive an invitation to be the commencement speaker? And no one could have imagined the organized moral courage of BYU seniors like Ashley Sanders, Eric Bybee, Carl Brinton, filmmaker Steven Greenstreet and graduate student Joe Vogel.

BYU is owned and run by the Mormon Church. This year it graduated 5,378 students with bachelor's degrees, 717 students with master's degrees and 190 students with doctoral degrees. Ninety-nine percent of the graduates are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Morman Church).

Before wagon-training in the mid-eighteen hundreds to the Great Salt Lake Valley, Mormons were terribly persecuted and brutalized from one migration to another.

The Mormon Church was born from revelation, resistance and dissent. Its mutual assistance commitment to poor or otherwise needy Mormons remains a marvel of organization and steadfastness. So does its expected regime of no alcohol, tobacco or drugs ­ a religious health movement of much success.

The Church today is considered very conservative. Over eighty percent of voting Mormons cast their vote for Republicans. At BYU, obedience, conformity and not questioning authority is part of the cultural tradition.

So just to read in the newspapers about "dissident BYU graduates" planning an alternative commencement in an alternative auditorium jarred the customary stereotypes.

Supported by some faculty members, alumni, citizens of the local community, and twenty students, in the middle of final exams, no less, they persuaded over 3,000 of their fellow students to sign a petition protesting Cheney and supporting a graduation ceremony about alternatives.

The core student organizers are devout Mormons ­ a reality I determined from discussions before and after my giving one of the three alternative commencement addresses. Some had already completed their two year Mormon "mission" in this country or abroad. They were a little older and more experienced than the usual graduating seniors.

They were not about to remain silent. They believed the standards of their faith and those of the university were being violated by the record of Dick Cheney. Included in their list of criticisms were "Mr. Cheney's involvement in the decision to invade Iraq, his defense of torture as a method of interrogation, his ties to Halliburton, Enron and the Energy Task Force, his extreme conservatism and the conservative pattern of officials invited to speak at BYU.

The students also wished to "highlight the value of free speech, to give minority student voices a voice and to highlight the need for alternatives, dissent, and diversity."

Also invited to speak were Jack Healey, former Amnesty International Director, and Peter Ashdown, former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and civic leader.

Raising the money for the event, with help from readers of The Daily Kos, was not the most difficult challenge. That was reserved for locating a venue for the large attendance which they expected.

BYU officials promptly turned down their request for a hall. No alternative commencement on campus. The "BYU 25" then went to other educational institutions. A Middle School said yes then reversed its decision. The Superintendent of Schools for Provo's public schools placed all the auditoriums off limits.

Finally, several miles from campus, in Orem, Utah, the students secured the large arena at Utah Valley State College. Over 1,200 people showed up, including students and faculty in their caps and gowns. It was a thoughtful and spirited gathering. They knew this was a historic marker for the BYU community.

What most of them did not know was the mettle and wisdom of the student leaders, whose ten days of hectic endeavors, made this unprecedented event a reality. They soon knew why. First, Eric Bybee, who will join Teach for America as a teacher in Harlem this fall, stood up and recounted in detail the hurdles and active obstacles which they overcame. He took three exams in one day.

Then came student organizer, Ashley Sanders, a humanities major. She said: "BYU should have to defend its decision to invite Dick Cheney. Dick Cheney should speak, but we should also be able to respond. When people have to give reasons for their opposition and reasons for their support of something, then we're better people as a civic society."

Cheney did speak ­ briefly. He spent two thirds of his remarks praising BYU in a variety of ways from their "stone-cold sober" number one rating in the nation to their athletic teams. His comments were designed for applause. Then he offered some homilies about success in life. Then he was off to Air Force Two.

Over at Utah Valley State College, the BYU students were teaching their elders that a critical, humane mind is a difficult thing to silence.

After what they described as a very successful graduation that stressed alternatives, the student organizers held a party at an art gallery. They cooked a delicious and nutritious dinner for all. There was no alcohol imbibed, no tobacco smoked.

They had practiced their faith along with their academic learning and civic responsibilities.

Ralph Nader is the author of The Seventeen Traditions


Read the original post here: COUNTERPUNCH

BYU's Daily Universe Opinion Pieces

The following pieces were printed a few days ago in BYU's Daily Universe paper. The first one is written by someone who is just foaming at the mouth because of the "alternative commencement". I hope he isn't losing any sleep over it. Poor guy.

Then read the rest of them for some hilarious numbskullery:

No gratitude shown

The graduates who organized the alternative commencement were like someone who receives a surprise birthday party who then sends everyone home because they didn't like the cake.

BYU gave the graduates the chance of a lifetime to have a vice-president speak at their graduation, and they tossed it aside without any gratitude for the opportunity.

Then they had the audacity to make libelous accusations about the vice-president with only suspicion, not factual evidence, to back up their claims. Then they invited several liberal figures to come have a political rally under the misleading name of "alternative commencement,"?? because they claimed to want to hear an opposing view to what Dick Cheney had to say.

If they really wanted an opposing view to what was said at the real commencement, they should have invited a drug dealer to tell the students that they wasted their time at school when they could have earned six figures a year pushing methamphetamines and that being positive influences on society is overrated.

I'm glad they have graduated now, because hopefully, it means they will no longer be here at BYU to give us more misleading reasons for the way they behave the way they do.

Kyle Roper
Fairfield, Calif

Immodest leggings

With all the fuss being made about guys wearing girl pants, an equally important issue has been completely ignored; that of girls wearing leggings as if they were pants. This rather unpleasant fashion trend has found its way to our campus in a serious way. All too often I see girls wearing mini skirts, 4-inch long jean shorts or what looks like a long, baggy t-shirt with leggings underneath.

I have two concerns with this style. First, it's simply not attractive. I'm no fashion guru, but I haven't talked to a single guy that finds this style appealing in any way. So if attractive clothing is your goal, try something else.

Second, the dress and grooming standards for women stipulate that "form-fitting" clothes are inappropriate. Just because your leggings cover your legs from where your t-shirt stops doesn't make it modest-leggings only change the color of what you're showing.

I'm not trying to be honor code police here, but if guys get guff for having scruff, it's only fair that girls get guff for inappropriate dress.

Recognize what you're wearing for what it is. Guys: it's time to stop stealing your sister's pants. Girls: if you must wear the leggings, at least wear shorts, skirts or t-shirts that are of a respectable length.

Chris Matheson
Salt Lake City

Guns increase safety

After the recent shootings at Virginia Tech many of us here at BYU are wondering what can be done to allow us to continue to be safe as we pursue our educational objectives. I believe one of the first steps BYU should take to increase campus security is to allow those with concealed carry permits to carry concealed firearms on campus. That may sound somewhat extreme, but imagine for a moment how incredibly different the scene at Virginia Tech would have been if one or two people in the building had fought back with their own guns. They likely could have stopped the shooter, lowering the death toll significantly.

Some people think that guns on campus would create an unsafe environment. However, I have never found any evidence showing that more guns in the hands of responsible citizens lowers safety. In fact, most studies show the opposite; more firearms result in lower crime rates and increased safety.

I am not trying to say that everyone should be able to bring guns to school, but those who have obtained concealed carry permits, which requires classes, training and a thorough background check, should be allowed to carry their firearms on campus. This would serve to protect us all if an event similar to the shootings in Virginia was to ever occur here. Although we pray that it won’t, we must do our part to prevent it and be prepared if it happens.

Jason Rindlisbacher
Anchorage, Alaska

MORMON CHENEY PROTESTERS PAY THE PRICE

Blood, sweat, and tears have all been spilled in the battle being fought by anti-Cheney students at Brigham Young University (BYU).

They have had only 3 weeks to:

-Organize protests against Dick Cheney's approaching graduation speech
-Start a petition
-Organize an "alternative graduation" ceremony
-Find speakers for the alternative ceremony
-Find a venue for the alternative ceremony
-Publicize everything
-Raise the $25,000 to pay for all of it

BYU: "Dick Cheney is coming. In your face!"

The April 4th campus protest was met with a barrage of condescending obstacles from BYU's administration. WATCH THE VIDEO CLIP HERE.

The petitioners, after collecting a few thousand signatures were told by BYU, "We don't care about your petition, don't even bother submitting it."

The alternative commencement ceremony was organized off campus in student's houses. Groups of BYU students got together and began a collective grass roots effort to achieve the impossible in and impossible amount of time.

Within 2 weeks, the students had booked Ralph Nader, former Utah candidate for Senate Pete Ashdown, and human rights advocate Jack Healey. Speaking fees would land them a bill of around $15,000.

Can Ralph Nader draw a large crowd in Utah?

They searched in every nook and cranny in the city of Provo for a place to hold their alternative commencement and they had the door slammed in their faces. They had been "blacklisted" in Provo. Someone was trying to make it as hard as possible for them to succeed. So, they turned to a venue familiar with free speech issues, Utah Valley State College. This is where Michael Moore spoke in 2004 amid death threats, lawsuits, and bribery attempts. They booked the McKay Events Center for a super price of $7,000.

Not having the money, power, or support from their own university, the students had to get on their laptops and cellphones to publicize and event that would happen in less than 2 weeks at that point. How do we write a press release? How do we get donations? How do we take our final exams and organize a commencement ceremony at the same bloody time?

Eric Bybee, a graduating BYU student dropped $900 of his own money as a down payment for the McKay Events center. Ashely Sanders, another student, spent 2 days in a medical clinic submitting her body for experiments in order to earn a quick $1000.

No one has slept, they've barely taken their final exams, and now they fear that their efforts might be lost. They still need to make $9000 in 4 days and they still need to fill the McKay Events Center, which seats 8,000 people.

I asked one of the students, "Have you thought about asking BYU for the rest of the money?", and they just laughed. But it's not that funny.

When a university has the arrogance to confine student protesters to a taped-off orange square dubbed the "free speech zone", to physically take protest signs away from the students who made them, tell an outraged student who had his sign taken to basically go fuck himself, to pat the petitioners on the head and pinch their cheeks as if they were children, and to ignore and balk at a growing minority of students who feel disenfranchised by the invitation of a warlord to their campus, they have outed themselves as a fringe example of blatant fascism.

If these students don't make enough money and go into debt up to their eyeballs and if only a hand full of people show up to the McKay Events Center of Thursday, BYU will spin it as "you see what happens when you mess with us?"

Today is Monday, April 23rd.

The countdown has begun.

4 more days until history is made or repeated.


TO HELP THE BYU CHENEY PROTESTERS: CLICK HERE

THE BYU 25: My Diary of a Grass Roots Miracle (PART THREE)

Utah Valley State College, 6:15pm, April 26th

Finally, it was happening.

The blue sedan carrying Ralph Nader, his assistant Matt, the superheros Ashley and Eric, and myself pulled up in front of the McKay Events Center. The press conference started in 15 minutes, so Ralph and the crew rushed up to the press room while I took my camera to the main arena. I wanted to see if anyone was showing up.

As we temporarily parted ways, Ashley was on the phone firming up the fact that the missing contract had been found. Apparently, some suited bullies at the arena were trying to find any reason to cancel the event. They hadn't told the students to bring the signed contract with them, but when they got there, they threatened to throw them out and lock the doors if they didn't present it. Someone had to speed home and pick it up lightning fast.

A steady stream of people was filing into the events center. Some of the organizing students were wearing orange "USHER" tags and were shuffling people to the lower floor, trying to seat everyone in an organized group. Other students were putting finishing touches on the stage, arranging seats, making sure microphones worked, etc. They all moved fast and with determination and everyone had a glossed expression of anxiety. When the press conference started at 6:30pm, only about 450 people had showed up.

Upstairs, on the 3rd floor, a crowded room of reporters and photographers sat in front of a long table where 3 student organizers: Carl Brinton, Eric Bybee, and Ashley Sanders and 3 speakers: Pete Ashdown, Jack Healey, and Ralph Nader sat and took questions and gave their opinions. It should be noted that even though this press conference went 45 minutes and everyone involved was dishing out amazing insights and opinions, not one Utah TV news outlet aired anything. In fact, only the Salt Lake Tribune acknowledged it even happened. I guess when TV news compacts a complicated story into a 3 minute sound byte, some things get left out.

The press conference ended 15 minutes late. Superheros Ashley and Eric quickly changed into their graduation cap and gown and rushed down stairs to the main floor with Ralph Nader and the other speakers. The walked into the arena and saw a waiting crowd of 1,500 people.
I could tell just by looking at their faces, that Eric and Ashley were amazed. In 10 days, they had fought an entire university, and entire city, and and a local press that wouldn't give them the time of day and somehow gotten 1,500 people to show up to their alternative commencement on a Thursday night. The students and speakers took the stage and a wall of cheers and applause erupted. Within seconds, everyone was one their feet. A standing ovation.

And then music suddenly filled the air. It was "Pomp and Circumstance" and a sea of black caps and gowns emerged from the back of the arena. The dozens of protesting BYU Grads marched proudly in a single file line up the middle of the arena and sat in the front row. As I looked around the applauding audience, there were tears streaming down faces. I could feel tears swelling up in my own eyes behind the camera.

The applause and cheering lasted for a long time and then it was time to begin the ceremony. An opening prayer was given by Elisa Bushman, one of the organizing BYU students. Here is her prayer:

"Dear kind and gracious Heavenly Father, we thank thee so very much for all the things thou hast done for us. Father, we thank thee at this time for helping us to pull this experience off. And we ask thee to please bless everyone that's in attendance to be able to understand the message that we are trying to give. And bless that people will be motivated to make a difference and to love their brothers and sisters more. Father, we thank thee so very much for all that thou has given us and we ask thee to help us to be able to give more to others and to be able to see the value in others. And we say these things in the name of thy beloved son, Jesus Christ, amen."

1,500 people then said, "Amen".

Eric Bybee then gave his opening speech. "A lot of people said we couldn't do this, or that we shouldn't do this," said Eric. "We've received ridicule, threats, been called names. Many people have laughed and jeered. But here we are."

He then laid out some amazing numbers (hat tip to Joe Vogel) that showed what "The BYU 25" were able to accomplish in 10 days:

* 25- Number of students who planned and coordinated the event through basic grassroots mobilization
* 10- Number of days to make it happen
* 15- Number of meetings in a crowded Provo living room
* 24- Number of venues we contacted that turned us away
* 100- Roughly the number of finals we took in the midst of our preparations
* 10,000- Number of fliers we printed and distributed
* 20,000- Estimated number of dollars we needed to host the commencement
* 24,000- Number of dollars we raised in less than ten days (including $12,000 in just four hours thanks to the readers of Daily Kos)
* $6,000- Amount of leftover money we plan to donate to local charities

"We wanted to do something constructive," said Eric, who emptied his personal bank account to help make the commencement happen. "We wanted to do something different and unique. We wanted to invite people to speak and share ideas about an alternative vision for our country."

Ashley, with tears in her eyes, addressed the crowd next. "A lot of people have asked me just like they've asked Eric: 'If you disagree with what BYU or the government does, why don't you just go some place else?' A favorite suggested location is Berkeley.

"I only know one way to answer them, which is to tell them that I love this place and I want it to be the best it can be.

"After I answer this, there is always another question: 'If you love it, why do you critique it?' My answer is the same: Because I love it. And because I believe that integrity requires [it]."

Read Ashley's full speech here.

From former Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Pete Ashdown (the man with the audacity to challenge Orrin Hatch), we were urged to "respond to the entrepreneurs of war by being an entrepreneur of peace."

"Every day think about peace," he advised students. "Every day think about service. Every day believe that people can coexist no matter our cultural differences. Every day question your political leaders no matter the party and do not fear to speak your mind."

"This gathering is more than a response," he concluded. "This gathering is the future."

Human rights activist and former director of Amnesty International Jack Healey (who is one of the most inspiring men I've ever met) told students that their courage warmed his heart and gave him hope for America. He advised the graduating class: "Take your voices and turn them into thunder. Take your candle and turn it into a bonfire -- and revive this nation to who we say we are and what we want it to be!"

And finally, there was Ralph Nader.

You can read his personal account of the experience here.

"I've spoken to a lot of commencements," Nader began. "This is the first alternative commencement that I've spoken to."

"Moral courage," he continued, "is what it took to bring this together on the part of the students. . .but the fact that you have to engage in moral courage in order to make a statement of conscience or utter a statement of truth is not just a reflection of a morally courageous person, it's a reflection of a suppressive context. You have to have great moral courage to utter a statement of conscience in a dictatorship, but in a free society it shouldn't take a demonstration of courage in order to utter a statement of conscience or truth.

"So while we pay tribute to the students, we have to ask ourselves: What is it about their environment that led them to do this? Was it a lack of reflection on the campus? Did it touch on something my father asked me when I was ten years old and I came home from school, and he said to me, 'What did you learn today, Ralph? Did you learn to believe? Or did you learn to think?'"


I will be updating this entry throughout the day...

CATCH UP:

READ PART ONE

READ PART TWO

VICTORY IS THEIR'S

This is a glorious day. I have never experienced the full power that grass roots activist efforts could have until today. I wrote a heart-felt blog entry on The Daily Kos this afternoon pouring the facts and expressing my feelings about the uphill battle that anti-Cheney BYU students are fighting to organize their own "alternative commencement".

The Daily Kos is such a huge and popular blog, that I expected my entry to quickly disappear into the woodwork.

But this was not the case. Within minutes, people from around the nation started pouring in supportive comments to what I had written. And, within a few more minutes, money donations started gushing into the Alternative BYU Commencement website. Hundreds upon hundreds of people started discussing this issue and we suddenly became the top most talked about Daily Kos Blog Entry of the day. Hundreds of dollars became thousands of dollars. The "donation" meter exploded from about $9,500 to $15,000 in 2 hours. And then, just 4 hours after the post went up, the $20,000 goal was annihilated. And people just kept giving and giving and giving.

My heart is full of cheer, warmth, and celebration. This is a great day. Especially for someone like me... a pessimist.

Wow.

Here are some of the 500 comments from readers of The Daily Kos:

This is how freedom is born. It is hard and it requires pain, but they have done something really courageous and it will grow. Watch it grow!!

I hope these kids know that these donations are coming from atheists, agnostics, Jews, Pagans, Catholics, and other folks... Go BYU Protesters!

I LOVE THIS!!! THIS is what I've been waiting for. For the college kids to join us. I'm from the Vietnam era and have been discouraged that the (current)college kids weren't politically motivated. Well, they are at BYU. Thank you, grads, and good luck.

Great Work, Mr. Greenstreet and the other students and all of us who donated. How cool to see the good that can come out of the net-roots. Just my little yay us to add to the chorus...

Way to go BYU students! You guys are really impressive.

OK, this will be my last update, but it's cleared the $21K mark (how fucking cool): $21,000.89105% of what they needed. That was awesome. NICE!!!

I contributed $10. I can imagine how unhappy (ok, downright angry) I would be to have Cheney as a commencement speaker for my graduation. Congratulations to these BYU students who stood up for themselves and are making this happen.

What these kids are doing takes guts. I am so glad they made their goal and then some...it sends a good message to support anyone who wishes not to have their big day sullied by the likes of Cheney... I am not a fan of Nader... but Cheney is in a whole different league...And the fact these kids where they were...and going to the school they are... and had the courage to speak out.......... that is a message of hope.

I gave $50. Boy, It feels real good to be a part of this action! What a knock on Cheney, and in deep red Bush country no less! Cheney can go NOWHERE in America anymore without us reaching out and touching him! And these BYU kids are the greatest!

This is about telling the BYU Administrators that America (or at least this portion of it) is watching...

The total went from $17K to $20K in about 10 minutes! Now this is about sending a message to the BYU top brass who wanted to bring Cheney onto campus, and about sending a message to all college students nationally about what can be done!

$6,000 2 1/2 hours?!?! This shows me that liberals stand by our principles. I mean, did you ever think you would be donating to kids at BYU? I'm keeping Nader out of this, let the kids have their alternative function, and I hope they have an overflow audience!

This is one of the best days of my life...

-STEVEN GREENSTREET

Alternative Commencement Update

I got an email asking to spread this around, so I'm going to. This is from the Alternative Commencement crowd:

I posted a diary to DailyKos asking for donations:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/17/152711/014

If you have an account there, please go:

1) Recommend it!!
2) Address the comments. A lot of them are angry about Nader. Please go tell them our side and encourage them to donate. A lot of people are speaking out and I can't address them all.

Several people have already donated in the comments section. If we can get it on the recommended list, we'll get a lot more.

Thanks!!

And be sure to spread the word about the press release below, as well.

John Edwards

John Edwards' blog picked up on the Alternative Commencement story Steve put together for Daily Kos.

Seriously.

I didn't believe it until I saw it, either.

Check this out.

Who Won?

MyFoxUtah.com has a poll on their front page right now about who won the Anderson v. Hannity debate (the news anchors actually repeatedly called it a smackdown...)

And, with all the incredulity I can muster, I am here to report that as of now, Hannity is leading the poll 2 to 1.

After all the recent business at BYU and the Alternative Commencement (check all of that out here) and Rocky's strong performance at this debate, it seems as though Utah still has a long way to go in the common sense department.

STEVE NOTES: FOX 13's Website (see Bryan's link above) let's voters vote AS MANY TIMES AS THEY WANT. What a crock of fecal matter. They either need to learn some basic HTML skills or they need to learn how the democratic voting process works. They're letting some Hannity sycophant in Utah County stay up all night to vote for Hannity 1,678,904,543 times.

OFFICIAL RESPONSE to The Deseret "News"

Yesterday was a joyous moment for so many young people at Brigham Young University who have shed blood, sweat and tears to organize their own "alternative commencement" in light of BYU's baffling invitation of Dick Cheney to speak at graduation. These students had only 3 weeks to organize an entirely different graduation ceremony, book the speakers, secure a venue and then raise the needed $20,000 (plus expenses) to pull it all off.

At the beginning of the day on Monday, April 23rd, they had raised about $9,500. I posted a heart-felt blog entry on The Daily Kos asking for help nationwide and, 4 hours later, the funds reached an unprecedented $21,000. This help came from people I've never met and will never have to opportunity to hug and thank. The help came from a pure grass roots effort of activism and love for a cause.

There were shouts of joy and celebration at the announcement and there was an air of democratic success.

The local press called all those involved to get the details. The Salt Lake Tribune and The Daily Herald were taken aback and surprised at this absolute miracle and they went to the protesters' website to confirm that the impossible had indeed occurred.

And then The Deseret Morning News called me. And not Tad Walch, the Deseret reporter who's been covering this from the beginning, but a sports writing intern named David Rasmussen. He asked briefly about the amazing fund-raising that day and then he went on the attack. For the next 20 minutes, he grilled me about a video clip (clip meaning a segment of a bigger picture) that I had edited and posted on YouTube earlier in the week. He said the Carri Jenkins, BYU's spokesperson, claimed that the video "misrepresented" what happened and that things had been taken out of context. She didn't, however, deny that the events in the video never happened. Seems that she's in serious spin mode.

Rasmussen then grilled me about my comments on my blog about BYU President Samuelson basically telling a student to go f##k himself. He said "Samuelson didn't say 'f##k', did he?" I said, "No, I said he BASICALLY told the student that." Rasmussen, with an obvious attitude said, "Yeah, but you kinda said that". I said, "Dude, how the hell do you interpret that? I said he BASICALLY told the student to go f##k himself. Read it for yourself, the word "basically" is right there." I think it's obvious to anyone that I was using a euphemism to characterize Samuelson's attitude toward the students leading the protest.

But Rasmussen wouldn't budge. For 5 more minutes he tried to get me to say something negative and damning. He then accused me of editing Cecil Samuelson's answer to Adam Barlow's question. This is absolutely absurd. Here's the transcript (and Adam Barlow will back me up):

(Adam gives Samuelson a description of the events following the previous day's protest and then:)

Adam: My question is: Why, as an institution of higher learning, does the university so severely limit free speech and what is the school so afraid of?

Samuelson: The school is not afraid of anything, Adam. Thank you for your input. (points to the audience) Next question.

I noticed David Rasmussen left out that last part of Samuelson's response in his biased article. For Rasmussen to criticize me for "editing things out" or "taking things out of context" is both hypocritical and in poor journalistic taste. Not to mention completely unprofessional. Not only did he take my words out of context, he refused to print my support of the video and my affirmation that it was true and that any denial on BYU's part was clearly false.

I also offered to show him the raw footage, to prove that nothing was misrepresented. Since a fair, balanced and accurate view didn't fit the article he was writing, he declined my offer.

So, to boil it down, Rasmussen's article brought up 2 main complaints:

1) The video doesn't represent what happened that day. Well, duh. It's a 4 minute clip of a much larger story. We're in the middle of filming a feature documentary on all this hooplah and we aren't even close to being finished. I mean, there's MUCH more controversial stuff that's going to be in the final project. Rasmussen, Jenkins, etc should wait until the final project comes out to be worried about BYU's image. I mean, if I showed you a 4 minute clip of my hour long vacation video, it obviously wouldn't represent the entire vacation would it? Jeez, what are Rasmussen and Jenkins thinking?

2) That I misquoted Cecil Samuelson. Ok, I already explained this above. It's just plainly a false accusation by The Deseret News and they should be ashamed. They really pulled at strings to print this baffling connection of words. And, seriously, what you saw in the video is just the tip of the iceberg. Samuelson pulled out some real zingers after that. You'll get to see them soon in all their objective glory.

So, in light of all the grass roots triumph yesterday, The Deseret Morning News (with financial ties to the Mormon church) decided to throw a fly into the soup by lazily spinning the BYU web of Public Relations. I must say, I'm extremely disappointed by it. But that's to be expected, I guess. I learned this when I made my first film about free speech in Utah County, This Divided State. When you hit the record button and capture the reality of bigotry and oppression, those perpetrating these qualities don't react too happily. Sometimes they sue you, as happened to me 2 years ago. Or sometimes, they get The Deseret News to make you look bad.

Either way, my camera has never stopped rolling.

I'll see you at the movie theater.

-STEVEN GREENSTREET

(Bryan's two cents can be read here.)

Who's picked up the video

I'm going to update this post with everyone who picks up on the exclusive video below.

City Weekly.

Huffington Post. (Okay, this one was us.)

The World According to Bob.

BYU Alternative Commencement.

Jesus' General. (Man, I love these guys. Read their blog. Really, it's good stuff.)

OneGoodMove. (I read his stuff everyday, too. There really isn't a better place for Daily Show highlight.)

Crooks And Liars. (I visit this site daily, too. It's invaluable.)

Planet Houston Asylum. (I've never been to this site before today, but his top graphic kicks a lot of ass.)

Jon's Album.

DailyKos. (Okay, this was us again.)

Vonnegut Remembered

At the BYU Alternative commencement, Pete Ashdown stated that he missed Kurt Vonnegut.

He then wondered aloud if anyone else missed him, too.

I do.

(Click here to read everything I've written about him on this blog here.)

But I wanted to share a few of these video interviews that I found with you guys.

Huffington Post

Joe Vogel wrote an editorial for Huffington Post about the Byu Students for Alternative commencement.

Sometimes, reading his writing, it makes me feel a little self-conscious of my writing abilities.

Check it out here.

THE BYU 25: My Diary of a Grass Roots Miracle (PART TWO)

Northbound, I-15, Utah, April 26th, 2:40pm

My cell phone rang as our rental car sped by the digital screen for the McKay Events Center. The words "RALPH NADER" flashed in 20 foot tall letters. I quickly set my camera down and flipped my phone open. It was Bryan Young.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, Steve. Pat's crew just got pulled over by the Secret Service. They were at the airport trying to get a shot of Cheney's motorcade and I guess they looked suspicious."

"Holy crap. Are the Secret Service confiscating their cameras?"

"No. In fact, they're still filming. Bomb sniffing dogs and all."

"Dogs? What dogs? Are you kidding me?"

"No, man. Friggin dogs were jumping on top of his car and sniffing for explosives. And they got it all on camera."

"Oh, my God. That's awesome."

Dog save the King: sniffing for bombs.

We hung up and I pulled my camera back up to my face. Eric and Ashley were both on their cell phones. Ashley was biting her lip. Eric's fingers tapped on the steering wheel. Less than 5 hours until the big event and details were still being ironed out.

We drove about 20 more miles and then the southbound traffic abruptly disappeared. Not a single car was visible for miles. Northbound traffic suddenly looked like an evacuation route.

Eric said, "This must be it. Here come the cops."

A massive sea of red and blue lights appeared in the horizon, quickly approaching. Eric and Ashley set their cell phones down and watched in awe as 4 miles of police and secret service vehicles swooped southward on an empty interstate. Towards the end of the entourage was a small group of bulky, black SUVs followed by another army of police vehicles.

"Wow. There goes Dick Cheney," Ashley said, looking over her shoulder as the vehicular display of shock and awe vanished behind her.

5 minutes later, traffic slowly appeared again on the southbound route. They had closed down an entire interstate for Cheney's entourage. On and off ramps were crowded with hundreds of cars. Ralph Nader's entourage wouldn't be quite as large and Michael Bayish. There wouldn't be one police vehicle or closed on-ramp. It was just two college students and a filmmaker in a rented, dark blue sedan.

"I think it's ironic," Eric said, "that we're literally going in the opposite direction as Dick Cheney."

As we started to pull into Salt Lake International Airport, Ashley got a call from Matt, Ralph Nader's assistant. Their flight had arrive 20 minutes early.

"Oh, man. I hope Ralph Nader isn't just waiting on some sidewalk for us," she said as we pulled into passenger pick-up.

Eric parked the car and he and Ashley got out just in time to see Ralph and Matt walking out of the airport terminal towards them. They walked out and greeted them, shaking hands and smiling from ear to ear. Nader was carrying a disheveled pile of notebooks and papers under his arm. The suit he was wearing was homely with a sewn patch in the leg where it had been ripped before. He had only packed one small back pack, which his assistant carried and put in the truck. Eric and Ashley seemed a bit bewildered and so I quickly turned my camera off and played chouffer. I opened the passenger door and, with a sweep of my hand, said, "Mr. Nader...". Ralph got in, the rest of us packed into the back, and then we were off.

A grassroots 4 person entourage for Ralph Nader.

Ralph turned to Eric and Ashley, "So is Cheney speaking right now at BYU?"

"Well we passed his motorcade on the way up, so he probably just got there," Ashley said.

"BYU is giving him an honorary degree for social service," Eric announced.

"Jesus! To a war criminal?! A serial war criminal? How do you give an honorary degree to a dishonorable man?" Ralph exclaimed.

Ralph Nader takes the front seat and tells it how it is.

From there, we dropped Ralph and Matt off at their hotel in Salt Lake City to freshen up and we then proceeded to Ashley's parents' house to recharge. While Eric and Ashley quickly shoved food and water into their starved bodies, I looked at Ashley's family pictures in the living room. It was here that I learned that Ashley's grandfather had been a member of the Mormon Quorum of the 12 Apostles. In Mormondom, that's kind of a really big deal. On par with a member of the Vatican. Wow.

After a this quick break, it was back to the hotel, picking up Ralph and Matt and then driving down to the main event. Dick Cheney had finished speaking at BYU and Ralph said he had watched the last part of the speech in his hotel room.

"He was getting standing ovations," he said. "He told BYU how great their football team was and did a play-by-play of their last victory. The audience was eating it up."

Ralph continued, "And then he brought up the fact that the Princeton Review had deemed BYU the most 'stone-cold sober' school in the nation. The whole audience laughed and applauded at this. I guess they didn't know that Cheney drinks alcohol like water. Remember when he shot that guy in the face? He was drunk. But they applauded him because he told a joke about being sober."

Once drunkenly shooting a man in the face, Dick Cheney now made 20,000 BYU fans laugh and applaud.

At this point, it was 5:30pm. A press conference was to be held at 6:30pm and then the Alternative Commencement would begin at 7:30pm. Everything seemed to be going well until Ashley got a call from one of the organizing students on location at the McKay Events Center.

"Where is the signed contract with the Events Center?", they asked in a panicky tone.

Ashley, in the back seat and trying not to let Ralph Nader hear her, quietly said, "What do you mean? You don't have it?"

"No, we can't find it. And they're threatening to kick us all out if we can't find it."

"Uh... um..." Ashley said as she started biting her lip again.

TO BE CONTINUED...