Iraq war follows Bush to commencement (Murtha's district)

[ProSense]

Iraq war follows Bush to commencement

By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
19 minutes ago

LATROBE, Pa. - 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.

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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 (news, bio, voting record).

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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.

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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.

link

[ProSense]

1. "school’s president is the former head of Bush’s faith-based initiative"

OPPOSITION: Outside St. Vincent Archabbey last month, a group protests
the school’s decision to invite President Bush to deliver the commencement
address. The southwestern Pennsylvania school’s president is the former
head of Bush’s faith-based initiative.
(AP)


(Too bad there are no photos of today's protest)