From Deseret News archives:

Miller, U. group to discuss concerns about talk

Questions about his selection arise over his pulling of movie

Published: Thursday, April 13, 2006 11:57 p.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller plans to meet this month with students, faculty and staff at the University of Utah who have expressed concerns about his upcoming speech on the campus.

Some people at the university had questioned why Miller was selected as the kick-off speaker for "Discover U Days," given his decision to pull the gay-romance movie "Brokeback Mountain" from his theaters.

"We're just hoping we can have a really good dialogue between the university community and Larry Miller," said Charles Milne, program coordinator for the U. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center.

"I personally hope this will be an opportunity for us to start a conversation about respecting others and their differences," Milne said.

Miller is scheduled to discuss "The Rewards of Investing in Higher Education" at noon April 21 in the Union Ballroom. The speech will kick off the two-day Discover U Days event, which is planned to showcase the university through free events such as a "Red & White" spring football game, presentations by researchers, and a health and science fair.

"We want to remind the community that the U. is 'Utah's University,' " said Fred Esplin, U. vice president for institutional advancement.

Story continues below
Milne said Thursday that the discussion with Miller is scheduled before his speech but declined to discuss the time or location for the invitation-only meeting to take place behind closed doors.

Some on campus saw Miller's decision to pull the movie from his theaters as censorship, while others saw it as bigoted after Miller recently told KTVX-TV that he did so because he was worried about the breakup of the traditional American family.

"There are quite a few concerns," Milne said.

Students are continuing with plans to participate in a silent protest at Miller's speech, Milne said. An assistant to Miller declined to comment Thursday, saying Miller was unavailable.

For details on Discover U. Days, visit: www.ucomm.utah. edu/udays or call 801-581-7100.


E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image

Larry Miller

previousnext

Latest comments

Twitterati to BCS: 'We hate you.'

No. Mike is not Playoff. I am. Ref: @playoff at 9:37 The reason that I...

Eh!!! Quinn now that explains why you cannot throw the damn ball, he may be a...

Editorial: Poor welcome for Palin

7:59 The rule is that DEMOCRATS will answer EVERYTHING CONS SPEW. If...

Thunder rolls by Jazz

wow looks like Todd and Houdini are really working miles over...again,it`s...

Thunder rolls by Jazz

When you pull his cold dead fingers off of Millers wallet.

Neo Tokyo, the idea that 10,000 people would all live in Centerville but do...

Ex-legislators call for ethics reform

Hmmm. Now that I'm no longer in public office, it would be a good idea for...

Twitterati to BCS: 'We hate you.'

The argument that the BCS creates a more interesting regular season is...

A "beloved holiday tradition"? OK, that just scares me.

Utes need Wide to run wild

Silly Cougar fans. "I don't see a huge upgrade other than Wynn hits a deep...

Advertisements