'Preach Love, Not Hate'

More than 100 people assembled on the sidewalks in front of Buffalo Grove High School at the corner of Dundee and Arlington Heights roads on Saturday night. Some held signs with messages such as "God loves me," "Love is equality" and "My God loves everyone!"

They came to support BGHS's production of "The Laramie Project." Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kansas, was scheduled to protest the play. However, Westboro representatives never arrived.

"The Laramie Project" is a chronicle of the life of the town of Laramie, Wyoming, in the year after Matthew Shepard was murdered. Written by Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project, the play is the result of more than 200 interviews with people of the town.

According to Westboro's website, it "engages in daily peaceful sidewalk demonstrations opposing the homosexual lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying filth."

In a show of support, drivers honked their horns as they drove past the group on the sidewalk; the crowd cheered in response. In the hour before the play started, some chanted "Two, four, six, eight! Only love can conquer hate!" and "Preach love, not hate!"

"I think we've gotten an amazing amount of support from other schools," Adam McCallister, the play's assistant director, said. "It's really brought our community together."

Many people in support of the play learned of the counter-protest via social networks, like Facebook.

"I created an event on Facebook, and I know a lot of people came here from Buffalo Grove," David Feinstein said. "But I think a lot of people are just showing up, anyway."

"It's awesome to see all the kids here," Valerie Ihara, from Palatine, said. She heard of the event on Facebook and thought she should support BGHS.

Some from the counter-protest even came from other schools in the area. "I tried to muster as much support as possible to get people to come here tonight," Joshua Maravelias, from John Hersey High School, said. 

"We need to teach our kids to stand up for what they believe in," Valerie Abruscato Gross, a parent, said. "[Westboro] is wrong. They call themselves a church, but the words they speak are of hate. Buffalo Grove is our home, and we need to tell them to go home."

"We're a couple of BG parents, and we chose to come," Alyson Bailey said.

In preparation for the protests, Sgt. Scott Kristiansen of the Buffalo Grove police department said that the police were ready for any event. "The crowd tonight is orderly, has responded to our requests, and is respectful," he said. "That makes our jobs a lot easier. We just want to make sure everyone is safe."