Amid claims that Vice President Dick Cheney is too inflammatory and too politically charged to speak at BYU's April commencement, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has joined the fray and vigorously defended its decision to invite the vice president.

"Whatever the personal views of individual students or other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the invitation is seen by the university's board of trustees as one extended to someone holding the high office of vice president of the United States rather than to a partisan political figure," the statement read. "Is it appropriate for a university -- even one that espouses a policy of political neutrality -- to have as featured speakers the holders of some of the highest offices in the land? Of course it is."

LeAnne McBride, spokeswoman for Cheney, said that "commencement addresses are not political addresses." McBride said that Cheney's remarks will focus on it being a "special day in the lives of graduates, parents and faculty."

Cheney's visit in April will mark the first time he has visited the state since 2002. The vice president is "thrilled to be visiting Utah and BYU. ... It's an honor for him," McBride said.

In other commencement speeches, Cheney has briefly touched on the armed forces, but for the most part he stayed his hand on the political rhetoric, instead invoking gratitude for graduates who served in the military. Commencement speeches also frequently included insights and snippets of his career and his path from college to the vice presidency.

Brigham Young University spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said that commencement ceremonies have never been limited to the LDS Church's general authorities. According to Jenkins, Congressman Tom Lantos, D-Calif., spoke at commencement in 2001, and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., spoke at the Law School graduation in 2004.

Later this year, Reid will be speaking at a BYU forum, an event that has been in the works for more than a year.

Despite the promise of neutrality, many students have said they feel that Cheney is "immoral" and that he "does not represent the values of BYU."

Mark Lees, associate director of support services at BYU, said that he personally felt that it was a "great honor" to have the vice president speak at graduation. "Their reasons for opposition are intellectually dishonest," he said. "There is no evidence that he is immoral."

Opponents of Cheney's participation in commencement cite the VP's involvement in the Iraq war, intelligence scandals and alleged corporate corruption.

BYU officials also have approved an on-campus protest against the VP's visit. The protest is being organized by BYU's College Democrats, and will be held in the quad west of the library. The protest will take place on April 4 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and is open only to members of BYU's "campus community."

BYU also has scheduled a panel discussion on April 9 on the topic of evaluating the Bush administration's policies on the war on terror.

Nathan Johnson can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For a full version of the LDS Church's statement, visit LDS.org, click on "News and Events" and then on "Newsroom."