As determined as ever, the BYU students who oppose the visit of Vice President Dick Cheney have found a venue.

The group is opposed to the choice of Cheney as Brigham Young University's graduation speaker, so they plan to hold an alternative commencement ceremony.

After being turned down by several places, one of the event's organizers, Eric Bybee, said the McKay Events Center at Utah Valley State College was booked Thursday.

The center's size -- capacity is 10,000 -- is a bit larger than the organizers were seeking, but it was a place that would take them.

"We tried basically every single local site that could hold around 1,000 people," Bybee said. "You name it: the Provo Library, the Provo Tabernacle, the conference center at the Marriot Library."

The group is now seeking to raise $20,000 to cover venue and speaker costs. Bybee said he paid $900 of his own cash to book the venue.

The group had raised $9,000 by Friday. A midnight screening of two political documentaries, "An Unreasonable Man" and "This Divided State" early today may boost their funds. The group asked for a $10 donation.

Despite the tag "alternative," the organizers have said they plan to go to both events and just want people to see the other side.

"It's intended as a very, very inclusive event," Bybee said. "The reasoning behind having it, is we feel like lots of people are questioning some of the decisions made by Dick Cheney and his administration and are interested in some alternatives to that."

Those alternatives include the prospect of former U.S. Senate candidate Pete Ashdown, former Amnesty International director Jack Healey and consumer advocate Ralph Nader.

The band Shake Your Peace! said Thursday that they want to play in protest of the Iraq war.

According to the group's Web site, byualternativecommencement.com, the commencement ceremony will be Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Natalie Andrews can be reached at 344-2548 or nandrews@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.