Church Plans To Protest ‘Rent’ At SM North
School Officials To Meet With Police On Wednesday
POSTED: 5:21 pm CDT October 20,
2009
UPDATED: 5:39 pm CDT October 20,
2009
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Members of a Kansas church known for their protests are focusing on a Shawnee Mission school.Giant banners were flying outside of Shawnee Mission North High School on Tuesday announcing their student drama group would be performing the famous play "Rent" this week.The play, which is about a group of people struggling in New York City in the '80s, has many themes including AIDS and homosexuality.The show and those themes are what have the Fred Phelps-led Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka taking aim at the school for a protest on Friday night.Students at Shawnee Mission North said they have been warned about the protest."It's not like we are for it, it's just a play about it, and I think it's rude for them to come up here," said student Katrina Brink.Parents like Cheryl Brink believe the protest at the school is wrong."They can talk gay and lesbian adults all day," she said. "It's not fair to do it here. Whether it's right or wrong or ungodly, they should leave them alone."Principal Richard Kramer said the play was chosen because it talks about how people struggle to survive. The school plans to take up a collection of canned goods and coats to support the homeless in Kansas City.“We’re going to learn from it and we’re going to make it as a positive experience,” he said. “We look at it as another step in the learning process.”School officials will meet with Overland Park police on Wednesday to go over where the protestors will be allowed to stand and the rules of the protest.
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