President Bush keynote speaker at Calvin College commencement

Michigan institution

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – For a Christian liberal arts institution, which presently has six alumni serving in the Michigan State Legislature and a former faculty member in Congress, Calvin College faculty members and students are markedly mixed about news that President George W. Bush will deliver the May 21 commencement address.

“This is terrific,” Calvin College President Gaylen Byker said. A senior student worried in her comments to a local daily that President Bush could use Calvin to make political statements, leading people to think that Bush’s views are Calvin’s views. A junior student thinks the President’s visit is ”an amazing opportunity,” which will put Calvin on the map. Some faculty members also are apprehensive about the invitation to the President.

The visit to Calvin by U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist five years ago initially was also highly controversial.