“Business as usual.”

This is how First Flight High School plans to handle the events set to take place on Monday, June 1.

Notorious for their opposition to homosexuality and the military, 18 representatives from Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) have a permit to stage a protest in an area on the northeast side of Veterans Drive, just south of Colington Road. The WBC protest is scheduled to run from 7:40 until 8:10 a.m.

Principal Arty Tillett addressed the situation with the student body in two assemblies held during fourth period on Thursday, May 28. Tillett encouraged students to go about their day, discounting WBC.

“I hope everybody exercises good judgement and takes our advice, and that we have an uneventful day,” Tillett said. “My hope is that the headlines will read on Tuesday: ‘Westboro Baptist Church came to the Outer Banks and it was a nonevent.’”

Tillett repeated much of this message to faculty and staff during a meeting after school that same day. In that meeting, he explained that WBC chose to protest at FFHS because the school is located on Veterans Drive in Kill Devil Hills, noting that both the word “veterans” and “devil” are offensive to the organization. The school was also targeted because it has a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club.

The GSA Club was started during the 2010-2011 school year. Theater arts teacher Monica DeFelice was asked by student leaders of the club to serve as its faculty adviser. She said this organization has helped create a more tolerant environment for all students.

“I’m glad we have this (organization) in our school, to make it a place for all to be able to come and feel accepted,” DeFelice said.

While DeFelice advised the club for four years, teacher Michelle McNair assumed that role at the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year. With McNair’s departure in January, English teacher Hunter Will took over as the club adviser for the remainder of the school year. Will and members of the GSA met with Tillett on Friday, May 22, to discuss the WBC protest.

“Raven Girard professionally led the meeting and discussed how important it is for students to feel safe in our environment here at school. She also talked about how the WBC wants to anger us and cause a reaction,” Will said. “The general consensus of the students who attended the meeting was to unanimously ignore them.  Club members also discussed a day of support (which has now come to fruition).  The club is inviting the student body to wear tie dyes on Monday to support and unite the students here at First Flight.”

As the co-president of GSA, Girard wants to provide comfort and solidarity to the students who are affected by this event.

“I encourage people to ignore them. They make money off of attention. If anyone feels the need to protest, I ask them to do it silently. Not speaking to them would send a message that is more powerful than shouting back and giving them what they want,” Girard said. “On Monday, a show of solidarity amongst the students is the best way to combat this. The most important thing is respecting everyone and making sure they’re all as comfortable as can be in this mess, regardless of any differences in moral ideology.”

A second group, organized by former Outer Banks Sentinel editor Sandy Semans, has planned a counter protest. Using Facebook to organize an event called Celebrate OBX Safe School Zone, the group has obtained a permit for up to 150 people to protest in an area between Veterans Park and Aviation Park, just south of the Westboro group. The timeframe for this protest is 7:15 to 8:30 a.m.

A third protest group, Source Church, has also obtained a permit for up to 75 people and will be located just south of the Celebrate OBX Safe School Zone group.

In preparation for the protest, Dare County Schools announced plans for all three schools to open their doors for students who wish to arrive early on Monday. Doors will open at 7 a.m. and Tillett encourages students to come early, avoiding traffic backups and the protests. The gym and media center will be open, the cafeteria will be serving breakfast and the new edition of Shorelines yearbook will be available for pick up or purchase.

“If you have picked up your yearbook, then bring it with you and hang out with your friends and sign each other’s books,” yearbook adviser Robin Sawyer said. “If you haven’t bought your book, then this will be a great time to get yours before school.”

Tillett said it’s important to understand that traffic will be an issue for those who do not arrive early. His best advice to students is to come early and avoid the chaos.

Southbound traffic from Colington Road will be allowed access to Veterans Drive throughout the morning.  However, starting at 7:30, the Kill Devil Hills Police Department will limit northbound traffic in front of the high school on Veterans Drive. That means all traffic will be directed around the traffic circle toward the student lot, including parents dropping off students and school buses that normally use a separate entrance to the school. Only right turns will be allowed for all traffic exiting school parking lots.

Students will enter the school through the gym and auditorium, and Tillett said students should come directly into the building once they get on campus. During the assembly, he explained to students that once they arrive on campus, they are the school’s responsibility. Leaving the campus, he said, could result in disciplinary consequences.

Will wants students to feel safe when they come to school and know that First Flight is a “loving and caring environment,” despite protesters attempting to disrupt the daily routine.

“I feel like we, here at First Flight, are a stronger force than their group and we will rise above their antics,” Will said.

Will also thinks this is a teachable moment, despite the negative actions of the WBC.

“I believe it is a beautiful thing that in this country people are allowed to express themselves. I think it is important for students to see others demonstrating their First Amendment rights and know that outside of this small secluded community that sometimes things are not always sunny and warm. I think it is an excellent lesson and opportunity for students to practice how to respectfully disagree and handle themselves in a mature, respectful manner. I hope that Monday our students will protect themselves by not giving the WBC the attention they want.”

And if Tillett has his way, everything will be over by 8:10 a.m., and “we can go back to ‘business as usual.’”

Send comments to holmesmo0626@daretolearn.org