Michael Moore hasn't been in Utah Valley for almost a year, but he caused quite a stir Thursday, April 6, 2006, when a documentary featuring him played on BYU campus without administration permission.

BYU freshman Pace Ellsworth and his honors political science 110 classmates decided to have a free speech forum for a class project. Part of the event included screening the documentary, "This Divided State."

But the students didn't properly schedule the panel as a campus event, so Ellsworth and the dean of the School of Family, Home and Social Sciences decided to postpone it. As for the film, profanity in some scenes made it inappropriate for BYU unless it was edited.

Ellsworth told the film's producer, Steven Greenstreet, the movie needed to be edited and probably wouldn't be shown on the scheduled night. But Greenstreet decided to show the film anyway, uncut and without permission from BYU.

"It just didn't make sense to cancel a free speech forum," Greenstreet said.

So while Ellsworth and a political science professor posted fliers canceling the forum, Greenstreet set up the screening in another classroom and rounded up students to watch it.

Greenstreet said he fully expected to get caught. In fact, he didn't expect getting past the opening credits. But the group of 25 movie-watchers was only interrupted once when the professor working with Ellsworth overheard a student talking about the screening. The man did nothing to stop the film.

Greenstreet, a former BYU student who knows what it's like to be the minority voice, said he showed the film to give students the courage to voice different opinions.

"I think it's absolutely absurd that grown adults need to ask permission to speak out," Greenstreet said. "It's like asking permission to go to the bathroom."

Ellsworth said he had no idea Greenstreet was screening the film until it had already started. He'd spent all morning in meetings with deans, professors and administrators and fully intended to postpone the discussion for a few weeks.

"We had to talk about what I was planning to do [for the forum] because the university had no idea," Ellsworth said. "That's a red flag right there - the forum should have been approved."

And since Greenstreet wouldn't edit the film and the administrators wouldn't allow an unedited version to air on campus, Ellsworth decided to have the discussion without the movie at a later date.

"I think Steve [Greenstreet] went ahead and showed it just to stick it to them," Ellsworth said.

Ellsworth said he's just grateful he isn't getting into trouble for all this.

David Magleby, dean of the School of Family, Home and Social Sciences, said he doesn't foresee any consequences for Ellsworth.

"A freshman got involved in a project that became very different than he had imagined," Magleby said. "He's been very forthright."

The profanity in the film was another huge problem, he said.

"I don't think BYU students are expecting to have that kind of profanity in something that has been shown on campus," Magleby said.

He said Greenstreet's decision to use BYU property and equipment - without permission - to show the film was unfortunate.

Ellsworth said the main thing he learned from this experience was not to jump to conclusions or judge too quickly.

"No one really understands each other," Ellsworth said. "We're all pretty much clueless and no one should think, in this whole debacle, that they're right and someone else is wrong."

Copyright Brigham Young University 7 Apr 2006