Protesters rally against Westboro Baptist Church before men’s basketball game
UPDATED: Dec. 5, 2011 at 12:45 a.m.
With the anticipation of the Westboro Baptist Church protesting outside the Syracuse-Florida men’s basketball game Friday night in light of the allegations against Bernie Fine, students and community members came out to counter the expected protest.
But the WBC’s seven members that were scheduled to go to the protest never showed, contrary to a press release sent out earlier in the week.
The church announced plans to picket from 6:15 to 7 p.m. on the basis of how SU managed the case against Fine, former associate head coach of the men’s basketball team, in a WBC news release issued Nov. 29. According to the release, the reason Fine had full reign to molest young boys is because students, faculty and alumni worship college coaches ‘like modern day Baal.’
The WBC is an independent church based out of Topeka, Kan., with a strong stance against homosexuality. The group, made of about 40 members, is well known for picketing dead soldiers’ funerals and other religious establishments, celebrities and schools.
Three alleged victims have brought allegations against Fine. Fine was fired from the university Nov. 27 after a tape-recorded phone call surfaced between one of Fine’s accusers and Fine’s wife. In the tape, Fine’s wife confesses she was worried about some of her husband’s behavior.
The counter-demonstration was peaceful, although officers from the Syracuse Police Department and Department of Public Safety were present. Protesters walked up a flight of outdoor stairs to the right of gate B after police officers told them to move off the sidewalk outside the Dome.
Some of the demonstrators’ chants included ‘No hate’ and ‘Let’s go Orange’ along with sarcastic posters such as ‘God hates signs.’ The protesters chanted full sentences, expressing why they would counter-protest the WBC.
Zach Goldberg, a freshman international relations and policy studies major and participant in the gathering, said although he doesn’t condone the abuse of minors, he still felt the WBC’s hateful stance had no place on SU’s campus.
‘We don’t condone hate as well,’ Goldberg said. ‘So it’s more important to get the idea out, no matter what, we’re not letting this hate on our campus.’
Michael Cacciatore, a sophomore philosophy major dressed in a Mario costume, said he came out to protest because he hates the WBC and called the members ‘terrible people.’
Rachel Tribble, a freshman international relations major who came out to oppose the WBC’s stance on the LGBT community, said she planned to come to the protest ever since she heard about their possible arrival at the start of the week.
‘Even if they don’t show up, we still came out, we still showed our support for the LGBT community and we’re still here,’ Tribble said.
Besides SU students, several members of Occupy Syracuse joined the protest to show their displeasure with the possibility of the WBC picketing at the game.
Ashley Messer, 24, from Occupy Syracuse said the group didn’t want the WBC’s hateful ideology to be part of the Syracuse community. When she heard there was a chance the WBC would be protesting at the game, it was without a question she and other Syracuse protesters would counter-protest.
‘We just want to welcome them properly to Syracuse,’ Messer said.
The group was joined by other students and community members who felt compelled to show up in opposition of the WBC. They marched around the perimeter of the Carrier Dome twice to the intrigue of fans still filing into the building.
One fan, Fred Bush, an alumnus of SU and veteran, said he was happy to see people counter-protesting the possible WBC demonstration.
‘The Westboro Church thinks they’re a church, but they’re not,’ said Bush, who was at the game with his wife and two children. ‘They’re actually the anti-Christ, so I’m happy my kids are here to see people demonstrating against the anti-Christ.’
Calls and emails to the WBC were not returned as of Sunday night.
When the WBC didn’t show, Madelyn Johnson of Occupy Syracuse said she thought the church might show up at a different time from what was originally published. By the end of the game, though, the church never appeared in front of the Dome. Still, the counter-protesters were there to take a strong stance against the WBC.
Said Johnson: ‘The community is trying to stop hate from coming into their town.’
Published on December 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm
