Palin Stirs Things Up at California University

Palin Stirs Things Up at California University
Copyright By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 26, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/us/politics/27palin.html?hpw


TURLOCK, Calif. (AP) — Sarah Palin leveled criticism at California’s attorney general and others raising questions about her paid visit to a university that is short on cash, telling supporters that students had better things to do than dive through garbage bins to find out how much she earns from speaking.

Ms. Palin’s headline address on Friday night at the 50th anniversary celebration at California State University, Stanislaus, had drawn criticism and scrutiny since it was first announced. It also attracted sizable donations for the public school.

Officials refused to divulge the terms of her contract or her speaking fee, and some details came to light only after students fished out part of what appeared to be her contract from a trash bin.

“Students who spent their valuable, precious time diving through Dumpsters before this event in order to silence someone,” she told the crowd in the campus cafeteria on Friday evening, “what a wasted resource.”

“A suggestion for those Dumpster divers: Instead of trying to tell people to sit down and shut up,” she said, “spend some time telling people like our president to finally stand up.”

The material recovered by the students, which detailed perks like first-class airfare for two and deluxe hotel accommodations, prompted the California attorney general, Jerry Brown, to start an investigation into the finances of the university’s foundation arm and accusations that the nonprofit violated public disclosure laws.

“Jerry Brown and friends, come on,” Ms. Palin said. “This is California. Do you not have anything else to do?”

Mr. Brown, a Democrat, said Ms. Palin was wrong to politicize the inquiry, which he said would be objective.

“I don’t think she understands the process,” he said on Friday. “It’s about the operation of the foundation to see if they handled things professionally.”

Officials say the university foundation that organized the fund-raiser is legally exempt from public records requirements.

Friday’s sold-out dinner was expected to bring in more than $200,000, which would make the gala the most successful fund-raiser in the university’s history, said the foundation board president, Matt Swanson.

“We’re not here to make a political statement, we’re here to make money,” Mr. Swanson said.

The money will help pay for scholarships and a variety of campus needs, which the foundation will determine after consulting with university officials, officials said.

In preparation for Ms. Palin’s arrival, workers had transformed the cafeteria’s dining hall. It was draped with crimson tablecloths, festooned with orchids and surrounded by chain-link fences.

“We cannot believe the stuff that has gone on with our campus over Sarah Palin’s visit,” said Alicia Lewis, 26, who was one of the students who retrieved the paperwork from the trash bin in April. “Now they’re fencing the campus off? It’s outrageous.”

A university spokeswoman, Eve Hightower, said that the extensive fencing and extra security were standard procedure for large campus events, and that the university had remained open to students going to class.

Last month, the university released dozens of documents in response to California Public Records Act requests from The Associated Press and the open-government group Californians Aware.

The paperwork included e-mail messages documenting the university’s efforts to limit public fallout over Ms. Palin’s visit, but it did not include information about her contract. Ms. Palin has commanded fees as high as $100,000.

About 100 protesters stood outside on the campus’s grounds on Friday, raising a Palin-shaped piñata, holding signs reading “Spill, Baby, Spill” and “Open the Books,” and chanting about school budget cuts.

“I was expecting quite a few protests,” said Ms. Palin, who was accompanied by her daughter Willow. “It’s been nothing but absolute loveliness here in this part of California, in spite of some of the hoopla around this dinner.”

The rural university, like dozens of other public instutions, has had to cut some classes and cancel several scholarships as a result of California’s financial woes.

A group of about 30 Palin supporters from local Tea Party chapters also came to campus on Friday afternoon, waving large American flags and carrying placards that read “Support Free Speech.”