This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
OREM - Just when Utah Valley State College was about to close the book on the Michael Moore controversy, another chapter is being written.
Student body Vice President Joe Vogel, who helped decide to pay Moore $40,000 from student fees to speak at the college, resigned Thursday after student body officers took exception to his plans to write a book about the experience.
“As an elected [student] official, we didn't think it was appropriate," student body President Jim Bassi told UVSC's board of trustees. “He has a right to [write a book] . . . , but this will stir things up. We didn't feel it was in the best interests of the students."
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Vogel talked about his book to the news media last weekend, upsetting student government leaders who had agreed not to talk to the press about Moore or about the lawsuit Orem investor Kay Anderson has filed against the college over the “Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker's Oct. 20 campus appearance.
UVSC, student body leaders and their adviser, Phil Clegg, are defendants in Anderson's lawsuit, scheduled for opening arguments today in 4th District Court.
Bassi and Brooke Arnell, student life vice president, met with Vogel on Monday to express their concerns, but could not resolve the issue.
“They told me I had seriously damaged student government, UVSC and our case [in the lawsuit]," Vogel said.
On Tuesday, Bassi and Arnell asked Vogel to resign; he reluctantly complied Thursday. Vogel said he did not want to go through the process of an impeachment.
Nonetheless, Vogel insists there was no agreement not to talk to the news media about Moore, only not to discuss the lawsuit.
Moore's sister and publicist, Ann Moore, had encouraged Vogel to write about his experiences. He has 80 pages so far and is negotiating with Moore's publishing company, Reagan Books, to distribute the book.