Subject: Update: The Laramie Project at OCU
Hello, everyone!
I hope that this note finds you all well and that you are having a good
evening. Thanks to those of you who were able to attend our GATE
meeting and Hallowe'en celebration yesterday evening. Our next GATE
meeting will take place at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November fourth, in
the Liberal Arts Faculty Lounge (LAR 211). Representatives from RAIN
(the Regional AIDS Intercommunity Network of Oklahoma) will be joining
us to make a presentation, and refreshments will be served.
I am forwarding to you, below, an important message from MJ Jurgensen,
from Oklahoma City University, regarding OCU's production, this
weekend, of The Laramie Project and the planned protest by Fred Phelps
and the members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kans.
Spectrum, OCU's undergraduate BGLT alliance, and other allies on the
OCU campus are planning two different events to respond to Reverend
Phelps's planned protest.
The first of these two events will be a Celebration of Diversity, which
will include a series of short speeches and dramatic and musical
performances. The celebration will begin at 3:00 p.m. this Friday
afternoon, October 24, and will take place in the Bishop Angie W. Smith
Chapel, on the OCU campus. Everyone is invited to attend this special
service.
Our friends at OCU are also planning a SILENT counter-protest between
7:00 and 8:00 p.m. on Friday evening, October 24, and you are invited
to participate in the observance as well. It's crucial, however, that
anyone who participates in this counter-protest adhere to the
principles outlined below. Counter-demonstrators must be firmly
committed to not engaging with, speaking to, or in any way responding
to Reverend Phelps and the demonstrators from the Westboro Baptist
Church, who have a history of drawing counter-protestors into
confrontations and then pursuing legal action against them. Remember,
as well, that all counter-demonstrators will be guests of the OCU
students, faculty, and staff members who are organizing the
counter-demonstration. We will stand as individuals opposed to hatred,
and not as representatives of any organization. Please read carefully
the guidelines included in MJ's e-mail message, below, as you reflect
on whether or not you wish to take part in this counter-demonstration.
If you don't feel that you will be able to maintain silence in the face
of the often vicious rhetoric of the demonstrators from Kansas, you
should plan to attend the Celebration of Diversity, as well as a
performance of the OCU production of The Laramie Project, rather than
the counter-demonstration. Performances of The Laramie Project will
take place on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 23, 24,
25, and 26 in the Black Box Theatre of OCU's Wanda L. Bass Music
Center. For further details about the production or to reserve
tickets, please contact the OCU Box Office at 208-5227.
For further information about the Celebration of Diversity or the
silent counter-protest, please contact MJ Jurgensen at OCU at
mjurgensen.stu@okcu.edu. I'll pass along any additional information as
I receive it.
Do take care, have a good evening, and please let me know what more I
can be doing for you . . .
Yours, truly,
Dave
[Dr. J. David Macey, Jr.
Faculty Advisor, Gay Alliance for Tolerance and Equality (GATE)
University of Central Oklahoma]
***********************************************
An Important Message from MJ Jurgensen, from Oklahoma City University:
Dr. Macey, GATE, and friends:
OCU will be hosting a "Diversity Celebration" from 3-5 on Friday, Oct
24th. The event will be in the Bishop Angie W. Smith Chapel on campus
across from 23rd Street. This will involve performers, speakers, AIDS
awareness, etc. This is especially important in order to advocate love
rather than hate and to uplift the ideals of equality. I hope everyone
who is available has the chance to attend this lovely event.
I just got an activity permit from the city to hold a SILENT COUNTER
PROTEST. It is my idea that a group of us will stand, holding hands,
and NOT SPEAK OR ACKNOWLEDGE THESE PICKETERS in any way other than by
simply being present. Please know that by speaking, holding signs,
yelling, throwing things, etc, we are letting them win. The strongest
statement we can make is a silent one. AND the legal ramifications are
crazy. The Westboro Baptist Church and its followers bring lawyers and
their aim is to get us in a court room, sue, and charge you for
anything possible. And they know how the legal system works.
They are masterminds at this. I am not trying to scare anyone. I just
think we need to be incredibly aware of what we are getting into.
BY PARTICIPATING IN THE SILENT PROTEST YOU ARE ACTING AS AN INDIVIDUAL
AND NOT REPRESENTING ANY GROUP OR ORGANIZATION.
Other things to know:
We will not SPEAK
We will not HOLD SIGNS
We will not THROW THINGS
We will not APPROACH OR TOUCH
We WILL stand silently, holding hands, whispering and encouraging each
other if necessary.
Please understand that if you are a person who is easily provoked this
is not the event for you. We will have individuals who will help
enforce this vow of silence and if an individual starts to get out of
hand we will quietly escort you away. This is for the safety of the
group and individuals. The last thing we want is someone ending up in a
court room. And it is a possibility. WE MUST BE CAREFUL.
If you feel that you are person who becomes easily heated, the best way
you can support our cause is by coming to the Diversity Celebration or
by attending the show, The Laramie Project. (Shows are Oct. 23-26. Call
(405) 208-5227 for ticket information.)
I am so thrilled to know that you all are excited and want to be
involved in such a positive way. Please be aware of the magnitude of
this event and the absolute need for us to stick by this vow of
silence. We will be receiving a big helping of hate. This is going to
take the utmost courage and self control. But I believe in humanity and
I believe in us.
Thank you all so much, and please do not hesitate to email me with any
other questions or concerns,
MJ Jurgensen
mjurgensen.stu@okcu.edu
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