Calvin Students Working on Bush Protest Letter

The following text comes from an email being circulated amongst Calvin College students and their friends in the community who are trying to raise enough money to publish a full page ad in the Grand Rapids Press opposing President Bush’s visit to the College on May 21st:

We now have close to 150 signatures to our letter protesting Bush being the commencement speaker at Calvin. This is a great start, but in order for the letter to have impact, we need lots more. Many of you have done a great job distributing the letter to family and friends. Please keep up your good work and think of additional folks who might sign. We’re especially interested in getting student signatures. We’ve gotten at least one faculty name and are hoping for more. The deadline for names is Tuesday, May 17th. Please forward this email to all your Calvin friends! Please tell folks not to wait until the last minute!

We’ve raised over $3,250 in contributions to pay for the full-page ad in the Grand Rapids Press on Friday May 20th. The ad costs $9598.71, so we have about $6,350 left to raise. We’re confident we can do it. Since the ad is considered a political one, it will include the line, “This ad was paid for by alumni and friends of Calvin College.” If faculty and students send us checks, we’ll add them to the contributors’ list.

We found out this week that some Calvin faculty are drafting a letter to President Bush that expresses their concerns. We’ve contacted them and invited them to sign our letter as well their own.

And last, here’s how to send donations and sign onto the letter.

DONATIONS

Here’s where to send your check: Sally Steenland, PO Box 53096, Washington, DC 20009. Make your check out to me. And please know that whatever amount you give will be greatly appreciated.

SIGN ON TO THE LETTER

Email nobushatcalvin@yahoo.com and give your name and the year you graduated (if you’re an alum). Also include your phone number for verification purposes.

TEXT OF THE LETTER

Dear President Bush:

We are students, alumni and friends of CalvinCollege who are deeply troubled that you will be the commencement speaker at Calvin on May 21st. In our view, the policies and actions of your administration, both domestically and internationally over the past four years, violate many deeply held principles of Calvin College.

Calvin is a rigorous intellectual institution, and a truly Christian one. Since its inception in 1876, Calvin has educated its students to use their minds and hearts to transform the world into a “beloved community” where no one is an outcast and all of God’s children are cared for. Calvin teaches its students to work for peace and justice, and to be good stewards of God’s creation.

By their deeds ye shall know them, says the Bible. Your deeds, Mr. President–neglecting the needy to coddle the rich, desecrating the environment, and misleading the country into war–do not exemplify the faith we live by.

Moreover, many of your supporters are using religion as a weapon to divide our nation and advance a narrow partisan agenda. We are deeply disappointed in your failure to renounce their inflammatory rhetoric.

We urge you not to use Calvin College as a platform to advance policies that violate the school’s religious principles. Furthermore, we urge you to repudiate the false claims of supporters who say that those who oppose your policies are the enemies of religion.

Related Posts:

1. Protest Plans For Calvin Bush Visit Announced
2. Peace Vigil Tomorrow at Calvin
3. President Bush to Speak at Calvin College Commencement
4. Local News Coverage of Bush Protest at Calvin
5. Bush Met by Hundreds of Protestors at Calvin College

Tags: antiwar, grand rapids, protest