The King’s College Will Continue Business as Usual Amid Planned Protest from Westboro Baptist Church
Photo from The King's College
Students of The King's College found out via Twitter last Wednesday that the Westboro Baptist Church, a religious group made infamous by picketing the funerals of dead soldiers and children, will protest at The King’s College Monday, January 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
"I encourage you to refrain from engaging the protestors and treat this as a non-event,” Leedy said. “The storm will quickly blow over.”
The protest was announced via Twitter on January 22 at 7:18 p.m. The announcement outlines two grievances the Westboro Baptist Church claims to have against The King’s College: the students’ theological education and the past actions of former president and conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza.
In a statement emailed to students, The King's College Dean of Students David Leedy admonished the King's community to operate business as usual.
"If they do show up at our doorstep (this group has a history of not showing), I encourage you to refrain from engaging the protestors and treat this as a non-event,” Leedy said. “The storm will quickly blow over.”
The protesters claim the religious and theological faculty at The King's College encourages students to "deny God's sovereignty and absolute authority over them. By teaching them, in word and deed, that God doesn't mean what He says, they make each of those students twofold more the child of hell than themselves," the statement declares.
The Westboro Baptist Church has not responded yet to EST's request for comment.
Dinesh D'Souza has not been in the group's good graces due to past scandal and his previous run-in with the Westboro Baptist Church at a debate.
"It was clear D'Souza was at war with God Almighty," the press release says.
The former college president and conservative commentator resigned following a scandal involving alleged infidelity and his subsequent divorce.
Yet, the Westboro Baptist Church has determined D’Souza’s actions are still worthy of protest. Audrey Cooper, a senior Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major at The King's College, noted that few students feel connected to the saga which rocked the college six years prior.
"In my experience, students don't remember D'Souza very fondly,” Cooper stated. “In fact, most students don't remember him at all, since we've had two other presidents since him."
Alumni and students took to Twitter in a flurry of activity soon after the church’s announcement.
The announcement of the protest has brought a sense of pride to the King’s community.
"I'm convinced that we're doing our best to follow Jesus, tell the truth, and love people,” Cooper stated. “I'll stand for that in the face of hateful protests and condemnation any day."