By Justin Pechanec

Panther’s Tale

The intersection of Rock Road and James Street is one many students have gone through on their daily commute to and from school. But after seeing some signs held up by members of the Westboro Baptist Church members reading “God won’t change your chromosomes” and “God H8S Trannies,” it is likely many will forever remember this intersection as where the WBC protest against Derby High School took place.

From 2:45 to 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 11, five members of the Westboro Baptist Church, which is based in Topeka, were on the sidewalk at the southeast corner of James and Rock. They protested Derby High’s crowning of transgender senior Tyler Krayer as Hollyball king in December.

“They are harassing a minor and it’s wrong,” sophomore Baylee Bristow said. “They tagged him (Krayer) on Twitter and have started to single him out because he won Hollyball king.”

Juliana Karagianis, a 2016 Derby graduate, added: “I believe it’s none of their business and they should just let it be.”.

Senior Ryan Werdel didn’t support either side of the protest.

“I agree that LGBTQ morals are wrong, but I do believe that the WBC is really terrible with how they’re saying what they say… they’re starved of a personal relationship with God and their methods are not very wise. I will not be doing anything to support them nor go against them,” Werdel said.

While some Derby students have a strong dislike of the WBC, many believe the protest unified the student body.

“We’re all united under the principle of respect so we can stand against the force that is attacking us. We all respect his (Tyler’s) opinions,” sophomore Micha Crawford said.

Junior Karis Brown also thinks that many students have banded together in response to the protest.

“Oddly enough, I’ve noticed a lot of unity. We’re unified in our hatred for the group. Even if you don’t believe in the LGBTQ community, you can share the feeling that this group is evil,” Brown said.

Some students took notice of others advocating for LGBTQ rights, which they didn’t expect.

“I feel like this brought a lot of the school together, not just the people that support LGBTQ rights. A lot of people that normally don’t talk are now standing up,” junior Eva Cummings said.

Cummings was not the only one who made this observation.

“I’m glad that people are sticking up for our community. I’m usually too shy to feel brave for me, so I’m glad others are feeling brave for me,” junior Xochitl Lozano said.

Hours after the protest concluded, Krayer and others proposed on Twitter that Jan. 11 should now be celebrated as “Derby Pride Day.”

Ultimately, Westboro Baptist Church seems to have affected Derby High School, but not in the intended way.

“This is bringing us closer together, and hopefully it keeps us like this after all the drama goes away,” junior Harley Gore said.