Hannity is itching to debate Moore

On his own radio show Thursday afternoon, however, Hannity suggested that he and Moore put $50,000 each on the table during their debate and let students decide who wins the cash, which would then be donated to the winner's charity of choice.

The student council is annually allotted $50,000 in student fees to bring in speakers to campus, though Vogel noted the school is expecting to make back a large chunk of what it is paying Moore through donations and ticket sales.

When word leaked Tuesday that $40,000 would be spent on Moore, a wildfire of controversy spread among conservative UVSC students and others opposed to the filmmaker's negative depiction of Bush and the war on terrorism in his latest film, "Fahrenheit 9/11" — the highest-grossing documentary ever made.

UVSC student Sean Vreeland is organizing a student petition to recall the council's decision to have Moore speak, as well as remove some council members from office.

But he's happy to hear that Hannity may come.

"This way students are going to get a better view to help them to vote," Vreeland said. "Just hearing one point of view isn't going to prepare anybody to vote better, and that's one of our goals here at UVSC."

Whether or not Hannity comes, Vogel said the efforts to arrange the visit has helped students understand that the council is open to political discourse on all sides.

And that means less threatening e-mails for him and a more peaceful campus for everyone, he said.

"Our plan the whole time was to get a high-profile speaker on both sides," Vogel said. "Michael Moore just happened to fall into place first."

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Contributing: KSL Newsradio 1160, KSL-TV

E-mail: lwarner@desnews.com