Planned Cheney Center at University of Wyoming Causes a Stir

He’s not the vice president anymore, nor is he in the limelight for any reason at all, really, but Dick Cheney is still stirring up resentment and even protests, the latest in Cheyenne, Wyoming of all places. The latest ruckus surrounding the former VP centers on a decision by the University of Wyoming to name a new center for international students after Cheney. Understandably, associating Cheney with anything international is a bit of a stretch, and those protesting the move have pointed out that Cheney’s history of supporting the Iraq War and harsh interrogation techniques makes him just about the worst possible choice.

The dedication will occur today, however, and Cheney and his wife Lynne will be on hand at the Laramie campus to see the "Cheney International Center" open. Of course, that’s where the protestors will come in. Suzanne Pelican circulated a petition a year ago to keep Cheney’s name off the new building, but to no avail. Said Pelican, We feel that by naming it the Cheney International Center, that the programs at UW can’t avoid being identified with that ideology and that approach to global politics that the Bush-Cheney administration championed."

The reason for the building’s name becomes more clear after one learns that Cheney has donated $3.2 million to the university over the past decade, and that part of that money will go towards construction of the new building. That said, it still appears rather odd that the folks at the University of Wyoming couldn’t come up with a better project for a Cheney namesake than a building for international students.