Hate comes to campus

The infamous Westboro Baptist Church is set to picket the Levine Hillel Center here at UIC on Monday, March 8th.

Located on the intersection of Morgan and Taylor, Hillel is a Jewish organization for students.

Westboro Baptist Church is a group founded and led by a man named Fred Phelps. The group is openly anti-homosexual and their trademark slogan is "God Hates Fags," which also doubles as their web address.

Their official statement of purpose is to "adhere to the teachings of the Bible [and] preach against all form of sin (e.g., fornication, adultery [including divorce and remarriage], sodomy)."

Their form of protest consists of "daily peaceful sidewalk demonstrations opposing the homosexual lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying filth. We display large, colorful signs containing Bible words and sentiments, including: GOD HATES [just about everything under the sun]."

The types of events they protest often include funerals of either deceased homosexuals or US soldiers who gave their lives in service of the United States. Their reasoning behind protesting veterans' funeral services is, as their website states, that "[t]hese turkeys are not heroes. They are lazy, incompetent idiots looking for jobs because they're not qualified for honest work."

The general goofiness of Westboro Baptist has won them a number of lawsuits as well as banishment from the United Kingdom.

In addition to their disdain for homosexuals and US soldiers, they also hate those of the Jewish Faith. Their picket schedule on their website boasts that they will "picket the apostate Jews at this Hillel. Shalom NOT!" on March 8th.

"While we are in the area to picket, we thought we'd stop by and say 'God Hates You,' 'You're Going To Hell,' and 'God Hates Fags,' their itinerary further reads.

"God Hates Chicago (all of Illinois, really), and all who live there are cursed. And then you are going to eat your little babies - you heard it here FIRST."

Westboro Baptist Church stands behind the First Amendment when their actions are called into question legally, though they have been charged with libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress by the parents of the late Matthew Snyder, a veteran of the US Armed Forces, and were sentenced to pay a sum of nearly $1000000.

In response to the hate directed at them, the Gender and Sexuality Center at UIC has planned a counter protest.

"To support and affirm the many groups targeted by their hate, but especially the LGBTQ communities the Gender & Sexuality Center (GSC) serves, we, Agape House, Pride, and the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of LGBT Issues have organized a peaceful, non-violent counter-demonstration at the intersection of Taylor/Morgan. We will have a short prep meeting that morning and be there by 11:30 a.m.," according to a statement by Liz Thomson, Interim Director of the GSC. "Our counter-demonstration is for our communities, not for [Westboro]. A debrief session is planned afterward so people can heal and process."

While the LGBTQ community is taking direct action against the charades of Westboro, the Hillel Jewish Center has opted for a different approach. Hillel will not counter protest, as said in a statement regarding Westboro's demonstration. "Some on the campus are choosing to counter-protest the WBC presence on our campus. While we support the UIC communities that are counter-protesting, Hillel has chosen not to join the counter-demonstration because WBC thrives on such confrontations," writes Hillel Executive Director Marla Baker in a statement to the Flame.

"Counter demonstrations provide an enormous amount of publicity for their vitriol and for themselves."

In place of a sidewalk demonstration, Hillel plans a discussion inside the building on the essence of social justice.

"Hillel does plan a response and is reaching out to the larger campus community to join with us. Simultaneous to the demonstration Hillel will have a Teach In on Social Justice and the Power of Speech inside the Hillel building."