Bush Makes Controversial Commencement Appearance At Catholic College

Friday, May 11th 2007, 6:28 pm

By: News On 6

LATROBE, Pa. (AP) _ Debate may be raging in Washington over whether the Iraq war should end. But Capitol Hill has nothing on tiny St. Vincent College, where President Bush gave the commencement address Friday amid protests and controversy.

The normally tranquil campus in the lush hills of western Pennsylvania has been riveted by a lively discussion over whether the choice of Bush as graduation speaker was appropriate in light of the school's peaceful Benedictine traditions and the president's policy in Iraq.

Bush was welcomed warmly, with cheers and applause filling the school gymnasium. School officials said there had never been as large a participation rate in a graduation ceremony. And the president didn't discuss the war in his remarks.

``Thanks for inviting me. I am honored,'' Bush said, his normal greeting taking on extra meaning.

But the passions over the four-year-old Iraq war that the president's visit has ignited were never absent, reflecting the debate now ongoing in the nation's capital and around the country.

Ronny Menzie chose to join a protest on the road to the college instead of standing with her fellow graduates.

``I didn't finish my thesis because I didn't want my graduation with him,'' said Menzie, 35, a philosophy major. ``I think it's a blight, an embarrassment on a Catholic college.''

The invitation to Bush came from a former top adviser, Jim Towey, who ran the White House's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives until he became the school's president nine months ago.

But St. Vincent, a Roman Catholic liberal arts college, is proud of its 161-year-old Benedictine heritage. The school also is located in the congressional district of one of Washington's fiercest war critics, Democratic Rep. John Murtha.

So critics spoke out, saying that having Bush address the Class of 2007 ran afoul of Catholic ``just war'' teachings and the school's values.

The school held a forum _ broadcast on C-SPAN _ to allow students to voice their opinions. Nuns protested on the edge of campus several Sundays in a row. Some alumni threatened to cut off donations.

Some 30 current and former faculty members wrote an open letter criticizing Bush on the war, the environment, the poor and the sick and saying that ``linking the school to your administration would irreparably tarnish Saint Vincent.'' The local paper featured dueling op-ed pieces by a former president of the school and Towey, the current one.

Supporters said it was an honor for the rural school of 1,800 and an unforgettable experience for graduates.

Towey has said he knew the invitation would draw protests but defended it as a memorable experience for students and the perhaps once-in-a-lifetime chance ``to hear the leader of the free world'' no matter what they think of him.

For his part, Bush focused on the importance of service. He encouraged graduates to consider careers in teaching or the military, and to make volunteering a regular part of their lives regardless.

``Today I ask you to make service more than a line on your resume,'' he told the 300 graduates, surrounded by about 1,600 family, friends and teachers. ``Find a need that's not being met. Do your part to fill it and make a difference to our country.''

Outside, about 150 people demonstrated, given encouragement by some drivers who cheered and honked as they passed.

``I object to the president being here and speaking to the graduates of Saint Vincent. I don't think philosophically he stands for what the students of the campus stand for,'' said Tom Koziatek, 68, a 1960 graduate of Saint Vincent.

Iraq war veteran Jonas Merrill, 25, said he drove 90 minutes from his home in Cumberland, Md. to protest Bush's arrival and the ongoing war in Iraq. ``We're fighting for the guys still over there,'' he said.