Vice President Dick Cheney’s forthcoming commencement speech at Brigham Young University has prompted a second online petition drive — this one by College Republicans gathering signatures in support of the invitation to Mr. Cheney.

An article in The Salt Lake Tribune reports that more than 300 people signed the new petition in its first 12 hours. The College Republicans’ effort comes on the heels of a week-old petition protesting the invitation to Mr. Cheney (The Chronicle, April 2).

The authors of the new petition write that it is “a privilege to welcome to our campus the bearer of the second-highest political office in the United States” and also that Mr. Cheney’s visit will further the university’s goal of developing “students of faith, intellect, and character.”

Backers of the earlier petition say Mr. Cheney is a poor role model because he “has made misleading statements about the tragic war which continues in Iraq, levied outrageous partisan accusations against his Democratic opponents, and used vulgarity on the Senate floor.” —Lawrence Biemiller