A protest by the College Democrats will take place April 4 on the quad next to the library on campus, BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said.

"We recognize on any given day and any given subject that there are many diverse views, and there are diverse views on this situation as well," Jenkins said. "We recognize that members of our campus community are entitled to their opinions."

Such recognition is exactly what Diane Bailey, president of the College Democrats, wants.

"We're not protesting Cheney's invitation, we're protesting his policies," she said Thursday. "I hope it stirs political debate and that students think of their own opinions if they support Cheney's policies. We want him and others to know there's an opposition voice to his policies. We're not just a campus of conservative Republican students."

While "protest Cheney, not the invitation" may be the College Democrats' official stance, Bailey recognizes some in her group would prefer the vice president not come to campus. They allege Cheney's support of torture as a form of interrogation, his involvement in the Valerie Plame affair and his "instilling fear in the American public that Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons at a time when that information was highly uncertain," she said.

Bailey wants to keep the protest solely "for students and by students."

"We don't want to be hijacked by extremist causes and political agendas," she said.

The announcement that Cheney would speak came last week, and quickly spawned several petitions in opposition to his speech. One online petition, which has been signed by more than 1,800 people, can be found at cheneyspeech.blogspot.com.

At the site, many signers identify themselves as current BYU students or alumni, and some left comments calling Cheney "a liar," a man "who doesn't uphold the U.S. Constitution" and "a cheat." Others say they are embarrassed to call BYU their alma mater, and accuse BYU of only asking Republicans to speak.

However, in 2001. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., delivered the commencement speech and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., will speak as part of a forum in the fall.

"We've been negotiating to have Sen. Reid speak for nearly a year," Jenkins said.

The College Democrats would like to have another protest the day of Cheney's visit, but have not decided on a location and have yet to receive school permission. The student club would like to protest next to the Marriott Center, where Cheney will speak, but school leaders worry about security.

"The administration has been very accommodating about both protests," Bailey said. "For the 26th, they said they won't stick us in the pool or some back closet. I'm sure we can come up with a place we both agree with."

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* SHEENA MCFARLAND can be contacted at smcfarland @sltrib.com or 801-257-8619.