By Sarah Light
'Free speech from a free grandma.' 'Michael Moron is a liar.' 'Freedom is Not Free.' 'Thank you Michael Moore.'
As thousands flooded into Utah Valley State College''s McKay Events Center for the much awaited visit of controversial director Michael Moore, protesters stood outside with posters to voice their opinions, mostly regarding the war in Iraq.
The visit, which has been the subject of recent controversy for UVSC, brought students, faculty and community members to articulate their opinions.
'We''re just protesting against the protestors against Michael Moore,' said Christa Albrecht-Crane, UVSC professor in the English department. 'We''re affirming the right of a speaker to come speak at a public institution like Utah Valley State College. We''re here to support him and also to make a point, to balance out the radicals that are here to say he shouldn''t be speaking.'
Although some protesters came to speak either for or against Moore''s viewpoints, most of those in attendance protested against the war, encouraging people to support the troops.
'How much is too much?' said UVSC freshman Steven Dunn. 'We''ve lost over 1,100 troops so far, and we don''t want this to turn into another Vietnam.'
Some protesters used their opinions to promote peace with signs such as 'Blessed are the peacemakers,' while others portrayed their opinions, using signs such as 'Protect our troops from Bush' to take their viewpoints to a more political level.
Most, however, just wanted to emphasize the need to be more supportive of the United States troops.
'Whether or not it''s right to be in the war, we need to be supportive of them,' said Laurissa Poll, former president of the College Republicans at UVSC. 'How would you feel if it were your family member, and we weren''t supporting them?'
In addition to speaking out about the war in Iraq, several came to promote the right to free speech and expression.
'I want to demonstrate to him that, yes, we do recognize free speech in Utah,' said Eileen Olsen, representative for Code Pink, an organization of women who came together to draw attention to issues with the war in Iraq. 'His message is welcome to some people in Utah, and we''re very grateful he''s here.'
One protester, however, decided to sell his ticket to the speech because he did not agree with Moore''s message.
'Michael Moore doesn''t support our troops,' said student Ryan Mattinson. 'He spits in their face and then denies it. I don''t stand for that, so I''m going to stand out here and sell my tickets and show my pride.'
Dozens of students also joined in Mattinson''s efforts to sell their tickets before the event in the parking lot.
Overall, most protesters expressed a desire to simply increase awareness of the issues and to use their right to freedom of speech to hopefully influence others.
'We''re a real college now because we have debate,' Albrecht-Crane said. 'There''s democracy at work right here.'
The protesters began to thin out as rain started to pour in the time preceding the event, so by the end of Moore''s speech, only a few remained.
Moore said overall, he has not had much protesting during most of his college visits.
Tour publicist, Terri Hardesty, said there has been the same protesting crowd at each college in Moore''s tour so far, and UVSC has been no different.