Well, you book a Bush-bashing, disheveled, Democratic-leaning lightning rod - students would label him Hitler, Saddam and Satan - to raise hell on campus two weeks before a presidential election.

Bringing inflammatory filmmaker Michael Moore to what donors see as Brigham Young University's sister school, Utah Valley State College's president mused, would put UVSC "on the map."

Turns out, the two maverick student leaders who arranged the 2004 Moore maelstrom counted on the exposure, according to a new book by then-student body vice president Joe Vogel.

"I thought it would be great for the school and something that would shake the apathy on campus," recalls Vogel, who waxes hyperbolic when comparing the Moore melee to Berkeley in the 1960s and now has his sights set on a doctorate program at that liberal landmark.

But neither Vogel nor student body president Jim Bassi counted on a public and private push-back that included ridicule from millionaire donors (as well as from Fox News commentator Sean Hannity), death threats, bribes and a lawsuit. Both also saw their LDS faith questioned and the ordeal eventually cost Vogel his vice presidential post.

"I knew we would tick some people off, but I didn't expect the emotional reaction," says Bassi, who now lives in Dallas. "It was ridiculous how people reacted - kind of shameful."

Besides recounting the emotional roller coaster both students endured - and the media circus that ensued - Vogel's Free Speech 101: The Utah Valley Uproar Over Michael Moore reveals how close the political screed came to getting scuttled.

The reason, Vogel explains, is because administration officials conspired with well-heeled donors to rescind Moore's invitation.

(They later coaxed Hannity to speak on campus for "balance.") At one point, the book notes, the pooh-bahs "who have their names on the sides of [UVSC] buildings" offered to pay the "Fahrenheit 9/11" director $40,000 to cancel his Orem trip.

Now - with the zeitgeist at state-owned UVSC nearly two years removed - people, politics and even policy across this Happy Valley community are indelibly changed.

Moore worth the mess? A UVSC-commissioned poll a year later shows the fracas indeed put the Orem school on the map.

Suddenly, 93 percent of Wasatch Front residents had heard of the school - up from 79 percent - though respondents from the community insist the recognition came with a cost.

Among Utah County residents, 64 percent argue UVSC is becoming more liberal, while 55 percent say Moore's visit hurt the school's standing.

UVSC President Bill Sederburg disagrees.

A former Republican state senator who hails from Moore's home state of Michigan, Sederburg maintains the appearance by the activist provided a "phenomenal learning moment for our students" and has bolstered UVSC's chances for university status.

"Maybe it sounds a little Pollyanna, but I think it was important to define the independent nature of the school," says Sederburg, who would welcome more divergent views on campus in the name of academic freedom, including, perhaps, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"I don't think there's any question the campus is stronger."

Contrary to polluting students' political values, UVSC professor David Keller argues the fuss over Moore helped energize young minds and define the public school's role - as opposed to that of LDS Church-owned BYU.

"People are more aware of arriving at their own opinion without being told what to do," says Keller, associate professor of philosophy and director of the Center for the Study of Ethics. "Although it was quite divisive, simply raising issues about higher education was very beneficial."

Jeri Cartwright, a Salt Lake City-based public-relations expert, says the challenge when courting hot-button issues is surviving the short-term storm.

"If I had a client that wanted to be noticed, I'd say, 'Go for the controversial,' " she says. "It can backfire, but in the long term, it may pay off."

Donors' great divide: Inviting Moore, UVSC fundraisers warned, could cost the fast-growing school upward of $15 million in lost donations. They also pointed to fiscal reprisals likely to be leveled by the Legislature.

Indeed, former Springville Mayor Hal Wing yanked his $1.4 million art collection before the visit and pledged it to BYU instead.

To stanch the losses, Vogel reports, donors called a secret meeting of the student council to offer the $40,000 "bribe" to get Moore to stay away.

When the council refused - the vote was 17 to 3 - Vogel notes chills ran up his spine.

"They knew they had shot themselves in the foot and had lost to a bunch of college kids," he writes, adding, "you couldn't buy us!"

Today, Sederburg downplays the financial hit, estimating losses at near $300,000. But fundraising insiders say the loss may be much higher and insist top donors have given cash slotted for UVSC to the LDS Church instead.

Both Vogel and Bassi refute the notion. They say the Moore dust-up instead drew more money to the state school - from a brand-new pool of donors.

Anti-BYU? In recent years, UVSC has distinguished itself from its private neighbor to the south, and Moore plays just one, albeit roaring, role.

From hosting a "queer theory class," mock gambling and "The Vagina Monologues" to a profanity-laced performance by rap artist Nelly, observers say the Orem college is headed toward University of Utah territory - seen as a haven for left-leaners.

And some Utahns, including parents who have threatened to withdraw their children from UVSC, are worried. Even worse, fundraisers warn, is that the money will dry up as "radical" things continue to happen.

Vogel and Bassi say the reputation is a coincidence of college life, not a calculated turn to the left.

But Keller celebrates the independence. Even though donors - and most parents - expect UVSC to reflect community values, Keller notes the public school is not a satellite campus for its LDS Church-owned neighbor.

"We have never been a mini-BYU - despite people's expectations," he says. "People may be very wary to this day of UVSC. But I think that's a good thing."

Sederburg agrees - mostly.

"What the Michael Moore incident did was accentuate that we are a state school with a different mission."

Back to the future: Despite raising the level of discourse - lauded by faculty and administrators alike - the Moore saga triggered a backlash of sorts.

Now, administrators acknowledge, school brass must sign off before student leaders schedule a controversial speaker.

State lawmakers temporarily held hostage the funding for UVSC's digital learning center - a move Vogel labeled as retribution for Moore.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, threatened legislation dictating how student-fee money could be spent. The motive: Prevent a repeat of what became known as "Fahrenheit UVSC."

Even so, Stan Lockhart, a former Utah County Republican Party boss, argues the staid conservative community is back to normal two years after the "Moore hoopla."

"It's simply a very small blip on a large radar screen," Lockhart says. "It will be a drop in a swimming pool."

So what does Vogel - headed to graduate school in Provo this fall to pursue a master's in literature - do for an encore?

"BYU," he says, "should be interesting."

djensen@sltrib.com