News Intelligence Analysis
[Yurica Report Editor's Note: This is a three article page. And see "Bush's Calvin College Surprise" by Jim Wallis for Wallis' overview: Calvin College represents a turn among Christians in America! Published May 26, 2005.]
Calvin Professors Speak Out Against
Bush Visit
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
By Nate Reens
The
Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Calvin College professors Randal Jelks and Ruth
Groenhout are inviting an intellectual discussion about President
George W. Bush's appearance at the school's commencement Saturday.
They hoped a segment on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes" program Tuesday night would give them a forum for their dissenting view of Bush's visit to the Christian liberal-arts college.
A warm welcome from Alan Colmes, the left-leaning co-host on the national show, cooled quickly as partner Sean Hannity, known for his conservative views, lambasted Jelks and Groenhout for lending their names to a letter criticizing Bush and the White House for violating many "deeply held principles of Calvin College."
"If you guys had your way, the torture chambers and mass graves would continue," Hannity told the professors for what he claimed was their lack of public condemnation of Saddam Hussein and other tyrants. "Your way would appease evil."
In a full-page advertisement that will run in The Press on Friday and a half-page ad to appear Saturday, Calvin students, staff and alumni voice their disappointment with Bush's graduation stop.
"By their deeds ye shall know them," reads the paid advertisement, quoting the Bible. "Your deeds, Mr. President -- neglecting the needy to coddle the rich, desecrating the environment, and misleading the country into war -- do not exemplify the faith we live by.
"Moreover, many of your supporters are using religion as a weapon to divide our nation and advance a narrow partisan agenda. ...We urge you not to use Calvin College as a platform to advance policies that violate the school's religious principles."
More than 750 alumni, students and staff have signed Friday's advertisement, while about 100 of Calvin's 300 faculty members put their names on the Saturday ad.
The group admits it's in the minority at the college and in the region, a conservative base that traditionally supports Bush and his policies.
Calvin communication arts and sciences department chair Randall Bytwerk says Bush and his speechwriters know better than to turn a ceremony of occasion into a partisan political event. Bytwerk reviewed Bush's prior commencement talks and said none took a political tone.
He finds it unfortunate some staff have chosen to bring political tensions into play.
"They say they welcome his visit and promoting dialogue, but the way to do that is not to announce everything a person is doing wrong," Bytwerk said. "This brouhaha makes a political event out of what was not a political event.
Jelks said the ad is grabbing national attention because people don't expect discussion at a small institution with Calvin's background.
The history professor and Groenhout, who teaches philosophy, tried to tell the Fox show's hosts and viewers they're not fighting Bush's politics as much as the ability to talk about how they fit into the college's framework.
"That's a pretty inflammatory question," Groenhout responded when asked by the TV host if they were "bad Christians."
"I think it certainly makes sense for Christians to question that there is a variety of ways to live out your Christian faith," Groenhout said before appearing on the show, which she had never seen.
Both professors acknowledged they knew they would have only a moment to tell their side of the story before the talking heads took over for the three-minute segment.
"It's entertainment, not news," Jelks said of the program.
Bytwerk said he was surprised his peers went on the show.
"It's not a show designed to promote dialogue," he said. "It's the very kind of show that shoots back and forth, undermining political discussions."
© 2005 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission
From Brad's Blog:
Students and Profs at Religious Conservative Michigan College Object to Bush Appearance!
Pro-Bush Prof Argues Address Arranged
by Political Director Rove 'Not a Political Event'
By Brad Friedman
According to the Grand Rapids Press, nearly 1000 students and
professors from the conservative Calvin College in Grand Rapids,
MI are taking out a full-page ad to protest George W. Bush's
commencement address appearance this Saturday.
The speaking engagement was requested and arranged by Bush's top political advisor Karl Rove who, according to NEWSWEEK, informed a College employee at a "Presidential" event back in March that "Bush was hoping to deliver a graduation speech in Michigan this year and asked if Calvin College, a small Christian school in Grand Rapids, might be a willing venue."
Ironically enough, The Press quotes the chair of the college's communcation arts and science department who gave his approval for the event as accusing the objecting students and professors of turning the appearance into a "political event."
The fact that the appearance was arranged by Bush's top political advisor, who was specifically looking for a venue in swing-state Michigan for Bush to speak at is apparently to be ignored.
Yesterday's Press described tomorrow's stinging full-page ad:
In a full-page advertisement that will run in The Press on Friday and a half-page ad to appear Saturday, Calvin students, staff and alumni voice their disappointment with Bush's graduation stop.
"By their deeds ye shall know them," reads the paid advertisement, quoting the Bible. "Your deeds, Mr. President -- neglecting the needy to coddle the rich, desecrating the environment, and misleading the country into war -- do not exemplify the faith we live by.
"Moreover, many of your supporters are using religion as a weapon to divide our nation and advance a narrow partisan agenda. ...We urge you not to use Calvin College as a platform to advance policies that violate the school's religious principles."
More than 750 alumni, students and staff have signed Friday's advertisement, while about 100 of Calvin's 300 faculty members put their names on the Saturday ad.
And in reply, The Press quotes the professor who defends the Bush appearance.
Calvin communication arts and sciences department chair Randall Bytwerk says Bush and his speechwriters know better than to turn a ceremony of occasion into a partisan political event. Bytwerk reviewed Bush's prior commencement talks and said none took a political tone.
He finds it unfortunate some staff have chosen to bring political tensions into play.
"They say they welcome his visit and promoting dialogue, but the way to do that is not to announce everything a person is doing wrong," Bytwerk said. "This brouhaha makes a political event out of what was not a political event.
While Bytwerk may like to believe that this weekend's political event "was not a political event", a report in this week's NEWSWEEK on Rove's political "thank you" tour would seem to suggest otherwise.
At a GOP fund-raiser last March, Michigan Rep. Vernon Ehlers
was waiting for his turn to take a photo with President Bush
when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Karl Rove, White House
deputy chief of staff and Bush's top political adviser. According
to Ehlers, Rove told him Bush was hoping to deliver a graduation
speech in Michigan this year and asked if Calvin College, a small
Christian school in Grand Rapids, might be a willing venue.
Why Michigan? White House officials insist politics didn't play
a role in sending Bush back to a state he narrowly lost in 2004.
Yet Saturday will mark Bush's third visit to the Wolverine State
this year. Less than six months into his second term, Bush has
paid multiple visits to the hard-fought states of 2004—and
he's not the only one. Since March, Rove has been out headlining
fund-raisers and county GOP dinners in battleground states like
Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin. Administration officials describe
Rove's travels as a post-election "thank you" tour
to reward Bush's supporters. But others say it's an attempt to
shore up the GOP base and stoke enthusiasm for Bush's agenda
as the 2006 midterm elections approach.
Nope. It's not a political event at all. And the "Clear Skies Initiative" will clear the air. And "No Child Left Behind" won't leave any children behind. And when the "Mission Accomplished" banner goes up, the mission will have been completely accomplished.
George W. Bush's Bizzarro World continues. We just have to live in it.
Yet even the good conservative Calvinist Christians of Grand Rapids are beginning to understand what an embarrassing figure this country currently has occupying the White House and misrepresenting our country to the world.
UPDATE: A number of Calvin students have set up a Google discussion forum called "Our Commencement Is Not Your Platform", described as "A place to dialogue and organize for those opposed to George W. Bush commandeering Calvin's 2005 Commencement."
From Daily Kos
Calvin College Students To Protest Bush's Commencement Speech
by Addison
Tue May 17th, 2005 at 18:59:34 PDT
DON'T FORGET: this Saturday, May 21st, President George W. Bush is going to give the commencement address at religiously-affiliated Calvin College. Why shouldn't you forget? As reported in an April 26th diary by Magron, what may have seemed like a slam dunk for Bush -- a pro-faith, pro-"freedom" speech at a small, receptive, and religious college -- may just backfire on him. As noted in the diary's title students, and faculty members too, are planning to protest the speech. As it turns out some at Calvin College are none too happy about the president's visit, or his politicization of thier faith. Quoting Magorn who was quoting a Dan Froomkin article:
On closer inspection, it turns out that Calvin College is not the bastion of the Christian Right it appeared to be. In fact, judging from my e-mail, it's a veritable hotbed of those other Christian values -- the ones that oppose war, work for social justice, and don't think much of the president at all. [Additional quotes from Froomkin's article provided in Magorn's diary or, obviously, the above linked WaPo article]
*WHOOPSIE!*
However, contrary to what one hopeless cynic thought, Bush hasn't
yet come up with a compelling reason (read: national emergency)
to skip the speech. I'm sure Bush came up with lots of reasons
to skip class at Harvard and Yale, so one has to worry about
the stunning deterioration of his truancy and malingering skills.
Alas, Bush still has a little more time (4 more days!) -- and
apparently a few more reasons -- to get himself otherwise occupied.
Here's the latest out of Grand Rapids, MI:
One-third of the professors at an evangelical Christian college in Grand Rapids, Mich., are taking out a large ad in a local newspaper Saturday to protest President Bush's commencement speech. "As Christians, we are called to be peacemakers and to initiate war only as a last resort," the ad will say. "We believe your administration has launched an unjust and unjustified war in Iraq."
"...No single political position should be identified with God's will," [continues] the ad, which also chastises the president for "actions that favor the wealthy of our society and burden the poor." Christians are to be characterized by love and gentleness, it adds, but "we believe that your administration has fostered intolerance and divisiveness and has often failed to listen to those with whom it disagrees." [Washington Times]
OUCH! Remember, this is not MoveOn writing the ad, these are students and faculty at a Christian college. We need to start prepping the press NOW! This is one Bush speech we may actually want the media to cover, unlike those "important national policy announcements" (read: free Bush ads) of the 04 campaign. After all, there may be some good visuals if the camera pans out:
New Testament professor David Crump says he and other signers object to the Iraq war and Bush's economic and environmental policies. Crump says many Calvin College graduates may also wear buttons or armbands to protest the president's visit. [WLUC-TV]
Hey, that last excerpt is courtesy of a local Grand Rapids, Michigan TV station (the story is a wire release, though)! Time to start emailing their story to the national networks! It's an NBC affiliate so, yet again, MSNBC's Keith Olberman may be the guy to go to. Damn you Keith, you've got us on lockdown.
Lastly, just for the irony of it all, I want to mention that
this speech is, in fact, a Rove ploy. Have I finally overdosed
on Kool-aid, am I being paranoid? No. Here's an item from the
now infamous Newsweek Periscope column, via All American Patriots
(a rightwing site):
At a GOP fund-raiser last March, Michigan Rep. Vernon Ehlers was waiting for his turn to take a photo with President Bush when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Karl Rove, White House deputy chief of staff and Bush's top political adviser. According to Ehlers, Rove told him Bush was hoping to deliver a graduation speech in Michigan this year and asked if Calvin College, a small Christian school in Grand Rapids, might be a willing venue.
Why Michigan? White House officials insist politics didn't play
a role in sending Bush back to a state he narrowly lost in 2004.
Yet Saturday will mark Bush's third visit to the Wolverine State
this year. Less than six months into his second term, Bush has
paid multiple visits to the hard -- fought states of 2004 --
and he's not the only one. Since March, Rove has been out headlining
fund-raisers and county GOP dinners in battleground states like
Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin. Administration officials describe
Rove's travels as a post- election "thank you" tour
to reward Bush's supporters. But others say it's an attempt to
shore up the GOP base and stoke enthusiasm for Bush's agenda
as the 2006 midterm elections approach. [MSNBC/Newsweek]
HAHA! About time one of Rove's little electioneering stunts backfired. So anyway, keep your eyes peeled and your email accounts buzzing. If we can build this up in the press beforehand it should be a good show and an encapsulatory parable about the diversity of Christianity in America.
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