Student leaders are "welcoming" members of Westboro Baptist Church to protest and express their message of intolerance toward the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community.
The church group is scheduled to protest the production of "The Laramie Project" at about 7:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 at the northeast corner of Northwest 23rd Street and Blackwelder Avenue. Westboro members will be on public property.
A proclamation distributed Wednesday, Oct. 22 by Jeff Riles, Student Government Association president, stated the support of human rights and tolerance of diversity. It was signed by several student leaders. Click here to read the proclamation.
Riles also declared Friday, Oct. 24 "Love, not Hate" Day.
The statement was important to show that students stand together as a community in support of a tolerance and respect for everyone's rights, Riles said.
"I think it's important that we show our campus is unified and that we respect the rights of everyone," he said.
Daniel Leeman Smith, president of Spectrum, said he was grateful for the proclamation. Spectrum is a student organization that supports gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and heterosexual persons at OCU.
"I was really appreciative that they wanted to do something like this," he said. "I think it's great."
Leeman Smith also said the proclamation was a great way to show support, and he signed it hoping it would have more of an effect on students, faculty and staff.
Spectrum is hosting a celebration of diversity at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 in Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel.
"We decided to have a big celebration to celebrate peace, love and diversity," Smith said. "We wanted to encourage their (Westboro) right."
President Tom McDaniel in an e-mail distributed Thursday, Oct. 23 encouraged the OCU community to refuse to acknowledge both Westboro's presence in Oklahoma City and their message.
"Ignoring protesters is not a passive activity, nor does it in any way suggest agreement; rather, it is a proactive choice that denies the protesters the attention they are seeking," he wrote.
The university is private property and the members of Westboro have not asked for nor received permission to come to campus, McDaniel said.
Click here to read more about what police are doing to prepare.
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