Queer Student Alliance (QSA) leadership member and junior Tyler Williams describes counter-protesting as a sense of community. This sense of community came through on Tuesday, October 8, when an anti-LGBTQ…+ protester came to EMU’s campus for the second time in two years to spread hate. It could have been very easy to respond to this hate with more hate, however, members of EMU’s Queer Student Alliance (QSA), and other students responded by setting up a peaceful and welcoming counter-protest.
Non-violent counter-protests offer people the opportunity to express their views while feeling safe and heard. Williams says it “shows that you can fight hate with love and peaceful actions’ ‘ —exactly what the EMU counter-protest achieved. The flags hung on University Commons and the safe spaces held outside and in Common Grounds showed that EMU stands with those in the LGBTQ+ community, and not with those who further propagate anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. It showed that EMU and its student body stand with those who the protester was attacking.
While sometimes it feels difficult to respond to hateful actions peacefully, I believe that doing so is much more effective than violent protests. Counteracting hateful and violent language creating an open space for [everyone] around campus drowned out the hate, instead promoting positivity and inclusion.
Williams said the first time the protester was here, which was move-in last semester, the counter-protest was unplanned. People came to the counter-protest not only to check-in, but also came to support those who needed support. Williams said that this second time, the “word got around really fast.”
I myself was at the counter-protest. I not only went to support my friends, but to stand against the hate that was being displayed across the street. I helped place flags in the grass in front of the University Commons, drew on the wall in Common Grounds, and did my best to support my friends during that time. Some people involved with the counter-protest even offered the protester water, further showing that hate can be fought with love.
Whether it was the counter-protest itself, or the thoughtful messages sent by students in the Royal Radar, I believe that this counter-protest was not only successful, it was fantastic. It was quickly but thoughtfully set up. It drowned out the hate and negativity that was felt on campus for a moment in time, with the feeling of community and care.