Students making most of Moore

Book and documentary about UVSC visit in works

Student body Vice President Joe Vogel, the student responsible for inviting the "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker to campus, is penning a book about his personal experience.

And another group of UVSC students is putting the finishing touches on a documentary about Moore's visit, as well as conservative talk show host Sean Hannity's attempt to balance things with his own appearance.

"It was a watershed moment in the history of the school," said UVSC communication professor Phil Gordon, who is overseeing the student production.

"Because the experience looks so different from so many perspectives and because it is relevant to the college's mission and purpose, I think it is really important that we document it and that we record it for future history."

Vogel, an English major, said he's drafted about 80 pages and plans to finish his book next month. Moore's own publishing company, Reagan Books, is interested in distributing the book, but no contract has been finalized.

Vogel said Moore's sister, who works as Moore's publicist, encouraged him to write a book so that he could take a deeper look at his experience.

"I want to explore what happened, but also why it happened," Vogel said. "There were a lot of things that happened that I don't think people really know about and that I really couldn't talk about at the time."

Vogel became the target of criticism and a recall petition following his decision to pay Moore $40,000 of student fees to have the liberal filmmaker stop at UVSC during his "Slacker Uprising Tour."

Though Vogel ultimately received praise from Moore himself for sticking to his convictions, he received hundreds of e-mails questioning his integrity and even threats on his life.

He's included "a few of the funny e-mails and some of the scarier ones" in the book, as well as information on who tried to stop Moore from coming.

Similar conservative backlash plays a role in the documentary as well, but student filmmaker Steven Greenstreet said the film won't make Utah Valley look narrow-minded.

"Originally I thought the main character and the main story would be Michael Moore and his message," Greenstreet said. "But now that I'm editing it, I realize he's actually become a subplot. The main story is the young people in the valley who became politically charged and politically involved. That's who the story is really about."

Greenstreet said he's fielding offers from media companies and hopes the film will be widely distributed. He plans to premiere the film at UVSC following the Sundance Film Festival in January.

Gordon hopes Utahns will use the film to objectively analyze the controversy now that it has died down.

"The film is about Utah and the way in which the community reacted to Michael Moore's visit and the issue of academic freedom and freedom of speech and the role of the college in tolerating dissenting opinion in a charged political context," Gordon said. "I think the film will actually reflect well on the community. I don't think it will make us look bad at all. It makes us look like a vibrant community."

E-mail: lwarner@desnews.com

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