The following is a series of photos that I took during the Westboro Baptist Church on October 25,2011 on the campus of Miami University.
Hundreds of students line the sidewalks on the corner of Spring and Maple Street anxiously awaiting the arrival of the church.
Dozens of towns people also came out to the protest to show their disapproval of the churches views. A group of motorcyclists and people riding in the back of trucks circled the block as they waited for the protesters.
By 3:25 students began to get suspicious that the members of the church wouldn’t show up, but they finally made an appearance and the crowd quickly turned into chaos.
Once the church showed up, however, many students were surprised they only brought four members. They were gated off and guarded by the Miami and Oxford Police. Although many students chose to retaliate with hateful words the protesters remained silent the entire time they were on campus.
Many people held signs to show they reject the churches opinions on the U.S military. The WBC believes that gays should not be allowed in the military and that God is punishing our people by sending home dead soldiers.
The townspeople show their pride by waving the American flag and revving their truck engines.
Students joined in by counter protesting. Many of the signs displayed hateful words aimed at the protestors. These are just a few examples of the array of different posters.
Students showed their disgust by turning their back to the protestors as they left campus. Attending the protest was a great experience and although I was disappointed by the way many students chose to react it was eye opening to see people with such radical views.
Freedom of the First Amendment 