Miami Student Article about the Westboro Baptist Church

“Miami to host Westboro Baptist Church”. in a matter of days these six words plastered the front page of the September twentieth edition of the Miami Student turned campus upside down. The article stated that the comparative religions department was moving forward with plans to host Shirley Phelps-Roper, the spokesperson for the controversial church, in late October. The department had originally planned to host a luncheon with student and faculty but the fear of an up-roar caused them to withdraw these plans. The Dean of the College of Arts and Science, Phyllis Callahan, approved the proposal early Monday, but in the midst of mayhem would no longer comment on the situation . Mrs. Phelps-Roper was scheduled to speak in a one hundred level class on religious extremism.

However, just hours after the article was released chaos struck campus. The department was forced to withdraw the plans and President Hodge issued a statement saying this was not a University sponsored event.

Personally I don’t understand all of the commotion this article caused. If the teacher feels that hosting Mrs. Phelps-Roper will give her class new insight which they could not gain through other methods of learning then she should have every right to invite her. The article said that the University was not affiliated with the visit therefore there is no reason for alumni and students to get upset.

I completely understand that the churches beliefs are ridiculous and I in no way support their hatred toward specific groups of people. However, they provide an example of religious extremism at its finest. It doesn’t get more extreme than people shouting that God killed their soldier while a family mourns the death of a loved one. They have just as much of a right to speak to the class as anyone else in America and I think that its unfair that people who aren’t even members of the class are so opposed to this visit.

Click here to read the original column and the updated article.

Westboro church says Miami teaches ‘rebellion against God’, plans picket

Just days after the article was released in the Miami Student about plans to host the Westboro Baptist Church the news story had gone viral. Text messages, Facebook statuses, Tweets, newspaper articles and even video segments were spread all across Ohio. An article was featured in the Oxford Press, The Dayton Daily News, and video footage was all over news stations in Cincinnati. The Miami Student, along with the Oxford Press, released a new article saying that the Westboro Baptist Church was now planning to picket on Miami’s campus on October 25. Ironically, the church had already agreed that if they were to visit they would not picket Miami or the city of Oxford.The church’s website reports they have scheduled to picket our campus calling us ” First Amendment hating cowards who have no courage of their convictions regarding academic freedom and worse”.

Honestly I can’t help but think these people are crazy, and I find the whole situation somewhat comical. They really think that by standing in the street waving some colorful signs covered with spiteful words they are going to change our opinions? These people are attention seekers. They take joy in harassing people just to piss them off. I think they have every right to be on our campus and to protest whatever it is they think we are doing wrong, but why do we feel the need to retaliate. Why not just ignore them and their dumb signs. They have the freedom of the first amendment but just because they are talking doesn’t mean we have to listen. I think that if it really bothers people that much then they should avoid the area for the mere thirty minutes they will be on campus. Yes everyone has the freedom to state their opinions and stand up for what they believe in, and that’s what makes this country so unique. But just because they open their mouths doesn’t mean we should have to open our ears.

Article from the Oxford Press