Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Jan. 24 prayer rally, “The Response,” will face protests from several on-campus and local organizations. Protesters are citing issues with the rally’s sponsoring organization, the American Family Association, and its stance against the LGBT community. 
The AFA paid for the event to be held in the PMAC.
In addition to protests, the Faculty Senate will consider a resolution at its Jan. 22 meeting to condemn the event and call for more education on the University’s tolerance policies. The proposal also encourages the University to plan a major event to address intolerance and similar issues.
“That resolution itself is the first step,” said Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope. “The next step towards repair is doing those things.”
Cope said faculty, student and administration participation protesting the event will “balance the sort of negligence that led to this situation.”
One protest, “Organize, Reflect, Act: A Day of Action for Justice in Louisiana,” plans for around 800 participants throughout the day and will include a rally outside the PMAC, a discussion panel on justice and various workshops.
Peter Jenkins, graduate student and creator of “Organize, Reflect, Act,” said his event will promote acceptance and focus on the betterment of society.
“Our main goal is to show people that the message of the American Family Association, which is that diversity is bad and that difference hurts society, is wrong,” Jenkins said. “We want to show people that diversity makes us stronger, that acceptance of people’s backgrounds will move us forward as a country.”
There has been speculation that the event was intentionally planned for a time when protesters would struggle to organize, Cope said.
“Obviously there was some thought being given to when the schedule occurs and, as I commented on MSNBC, I cannot believe that the organizers and the sponsors within the Board of Supervisors do not realize that this is at a time of the year when organization is difficult for students,” Cope said.
When planning the protest, Jenkins said he talked to many University officials. The first call he made after creating the event on Facebook was to LSUPD.
“They are going to be providing security for the day’s events,” Jenkins said. “We’re not expecting violence on either side, but, especially with tension so high, it’s always good to at least have a barrier there.”
Despite opposing to the group’s views, Jenkins said the AFA’s event should be allowed on campus. He said it’s a matter of free speech.
“Personally, I don’t like it when people aren’t given the ability to speak,” Jenkins said. “I don’t like what they have to say. But, in the end, this
country is about free speech.”
Together Louisiana and the Louisiana NAACP will also be having a rally opposing the AFA’s message the same day at Southern University.
More than 20 student groups, community organizations and businesses have signed on to support the event.
“We’re helping spread the word about it so we have people that are coming to the protest and, more importantly, also coming to the workshops that we’re having that afternoon so we can see how we can spread justice, not just for this one particular event, but for anything else that comes along,” said Julianne Martin, biological sciences junior and Spectrum president.
Assistant English professor Chris Barrett said faculty members wrote letters to LSU President F. King Alexander in opposition to the event.
“I have to say the faculty has been absolutely agasp about this situation, about the American Family Association holding an event at a premier athletic venue and that the faculty are overwhelmingly in support of our LGBTQ students,” Barrett said.
Barrett also commended the University’s policy for free speech, though it is unclear whether this covers the right to rent space for non-educational events.
“I question the administration’s interpretation of the right to rent out athletic facilities as being something that cannot be contested,” she said. “I think it’s a troubling precedent, and I hope the outpouring of generative, productive, genuinely educational energy as part of the Day of Action from faculty and students will help turn the tide back toward a place of safety, diversity and genuine discussion.”