While members of the Westboro Baptist Church picketed their anti-gay and anti-Semitic message, Gunn students, Stanford students, faculty, and other members of the community united in two demonstrations to counter the WBC.
The demonstrations occurred in front of Gunn High School and the Stanford Hillel at 7:25 and 8 a.m., respectively.
Gunn students were surprised at the hundreds of people who attended the anti-protest because the Gunn administration discouraged students from attending.
"I thought it was only going to be about 50 [kids from the] Gay-Straight Alliance," Rachel Gere, a Gunn student who attended the anti-protest, said.
Stanford professor Charlotte Fonrobert, who attended the demonstration at the Hillel, was deeply moved by the experience.
"People were excited to be there," said Fonrobert. "Everyone came together. One kid started to play 'Amazing Grace' on his bagpipes and everyone started singing along."
According to Ronit Roodman, another Gunn student, the protests brought people together to fight for a common cause.
Gere was surprised at the diversity of the crowds at the Gunn anti-protest.
"The WBC coming to California demonstrated that not only the city of Palo Alto but also Bay Area residents are loving and accepting," Gere said. "We had people from multiple high schools, back grounds, nationalities and sexual affiliation all stand side-by-side to show that we will not accept people who attempt to demoralize people who choose to be anything other than heterosexual."
they actually came down to the bay area. the past year the school had a very high number of teen suicides some of which were quite dramatic.
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