Bush to 2005 grads: Get involved
Letters of protest run in local paper
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GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (CNN) -- President Bush urged graduates of a Michigan Christian college to get involved in faith-based and community organizations.
Participation, he told Calvin College graduates Saturday, can help promote freedom and equality for all.
The president's commencement speech met with a degree of protest.
About one-third of the school's faculty members signed a half-page ad in Saturday's Grand Rapids Press, an open letter to Bush saying that as Christians they disagree with his administration's policies on the war in Iraq and other issues.
The Associated Press reports that a full-page ad, featuring a letter of protest from students, faculty and alumni, ran in Friday's paper.
About 20 percent of graduates and some faculty members wore buttons and stickers saying, "God is not a Democrat or a Republican" in a silent protest. Some also wore armbands. A handful did not stand up to applaud when Bush was introduced.
"Soon you will collect your degrees and say good-bye to a school that has been your home, and you will take your rightful place in a country that offers you the greatest freedom and opportunity on Earth," Bush told the graduates.
"I ask that you use what you've learned here to make your own contributions to the story of American freedom."
"It is your choice to make. As your generation takes its place in the world, all of you must make that decision," he said. "Will you be a spectator or a citizen? To make a difference in this world, you must be involved."
Bush encouraged involvement in places of worship as well as in groups like the PTA, the Jaycees and the Rotary Club, even gardening or book clubs. "All of these organizations promote the spirit of community."
He joked that his wife, Laura, had reminded him that graduates "are here to get their diploma, not to hear an old guy go on too long."
The president, who has been lampooned for his verbal gaffes on occasion, told graduates "there's life after ... English 101.
"Someday you will appreciate the grammar and verbal skills you learn here," he deadpanned to laughter from the audience. "And if any of you wonder how far a mastery of the English language can take you, just look what it did for me."
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
