That, according to theater professor Susan Speers, who is defending her use of a University of Akron (Ohio) facility for a speech Moore gave to her class Oct. 30, just days before the Nov. 2 presidential election.

University officials have pledged to investigate Speers' use of the campus's Knight Auditorium as the location for Moore's speech.

Moore, most recently known for his anti-George W. Bush film "Fahrenheit 9/11," in which he accused the president of having prior knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, was supposed to talk to Speers' students about the subject of her class, "Introduction to Film through Theater."

But during his speech, Moore invariably began to criticize the Bush administration, which added a political element to his talk.

According to university policy, indoor campus facilities are available for political events, but whomever sponsors them must pay a fee for their use.

Speers didn't.

The Associated Press reported that she had been cleared by the university to use an outdoor facility, Buchtel Common.

However, she says, Moore's advance team didn't want that location because of the possibility of bad weather. They insisted on an indoor location.

Speers says she got permission from university officials to use the indoor facility, and that officials knew ahead of time she would do so.

But according to the AP story, no fee was ever paid for the auditorium. And Speers claims she was never told by the university that a fee was necessary.

This isn't the first time Speers has been in hot water with university administrators.

In 2002 she was awarded $92,000 by a federal court after claiming she was denied an increase in pay because she spoke out during a meeting, AP reported.

For her part, Speers said she brought Moore to campus because "he is a man who made a difference through film in our society, not because of the message of the film."

That may or may not be true, but given the timing of his appearance – just three days before the election – his penchant for bashing the Bush administration, and any number of other qualified filmmakers who are not known for their extreme political points of view, her reasoning sounds an awful lot like an excuse.

Editor's note: