It's been two years since UVSC invited Michael Moore to speak to a divided crowd of college students, but neither the faculty nor the students have forgotten the lessons the event taught them about the First Amendment.

Now, former UVSC student leader Joe Vogel still has something to say concerning the matter.

Vogel served as vice president of academics for the student government, AVUSC, and aided in the decision to invite Moore to campus in 2004. He has written a book concerning the controversial experience and spoke at UVSC Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006, about both his book and that experience.

"We live in a deeply divided country," said Vogel, who currently teaches English at BYU.

The Michael Moore ordeal in 2004 proved that even Utah County is divided when it comes to political persuasions. In response to UVSC's decision to spend $40,000 of its budget to host the controversial documentary filmmaker, Vogel and other UVSC officials received violent threats, hate-filled e-mails, and political bribes, Vogel said. However, Vogel continued his support of UVSC's decision to have Moore speak.

"Independent and free thinking seems to be a dying virtue," he said.

Vogel spoke about both the decision to invite Moore to campus and the havoc wreaked in Utah County in response to that decision.

"What does [this response] reveal about our community, our state, our country?" Vogel asked.

The political backlash did not affect UVSC alone. Vogel said many who opposed UVSC's decision vocally accused him of betraying his religion, his family and his country by supporting the Moore speech. One e-mail to Vogel claimed that he should be "tarred, feathered and run out of the state."

Vogel said he thought the experience was a valuable lesson on free speech. He said supporting the event was not about what Michael Moore had to say politically.

"What was most important to us [was] seeing students actually care," he said.

Vogel said he is concerned with the suppression of free speech at U.S. colleges. Because UVSC and other institutions receive large portions of funding from private donors, many private citizens have a pull on what and whom the schools support. During the Moore controversy, many private donors threatened to stop their funds unless UVSC repealed Moore's invitation to speak. Because of this, he said any college realistically faces problems with academic freedom.

"I don't think this problem is unique to UVSC," he said. Colleges, in Vogel's opinion, have come to resemble big businesses.

Vogel's book, "Free Speech 101: The Utah Valley Uproar over Michael Moore," is available at the UVSC bookstore.

Copyright Brigham Young University 10 Oct 2006