-- The organizers of a silent counter protest to

have moved the event off campus, saying they felt pressure from UA officials.

Tyler Richards, a senior who will finish his studies at the UA this summer, and Cassandra Kaplan, a rising senior studying public relations, organized Saturday’s counter protest through

, which had more than 100 confirmed attendees Wednesday afternoon. The event, which was originally to be held on campus near the picketing, will now take place on the lawn of Canterbury Episcopal Chapel.

The move comes after the group’s organizers said they felt pressured by the university to change their plans.

Kaplan said she turned in an application on May 8 for a grounds use permit to counter protest on campus. Five days later, someone in the grounds use office called back to discuss the matter with Kaplan.

“They said, “Hey I have your permit here, and would like to talk to you about maybe doing this on a different day or changing this, because the last thing we want is media coverage coming to look at Westboro, and for them to think it’s okay for them to come back,’” Kaplan said.

Richards said the university was willing to issue the permit if the event's organizers persisted, but strongly discouraged them from doing so.

Kaplan said this left the organizers in a difficult position, especially because two of them were still students.

“It was kind of a 'Catch-22' for us, because we were afraid if we continued with this event, we would get the university on our bad side,” she said. “We were also afraid that if we canceled the event, the people who stood by us from day one, who signed Tyler’s petition and joined the Facebook group, that they would be upset with us for giving in to university pressure.”

Kaplan said she left the decision in Richards’ hands, since he was the author of the petition and organizer of the silent protest.

Richards originally canceled the event outright but said support from the community led him to decide to relocate instead.

“The outpouring of emotion and passion from you all has been overwhelming,” Richards said on the event’s Facebook page. “I've made a decision. Just because the university does not support this protest does not mean it should be stopped, period.”

Questions for the grounds use office were directed to the UA Office of Media Relations.

Chris Bryant, assistant director of media relations, replied with a statement Wednesday afternoon.

"UA's decisions regarding requests to use our grounds and facilities are based on reasonable time, place and manner considerations. UA's objectives are to ensure the safety and security of the campus community and to maintain the University's ability to educate its students and conduct its daily operations.





Westboro Baptist Church sent UA a letter prior to the event that provided the information UA needed to be able to coordinate their event. UA has granted Westboro permission to protest on campus and identified a location in front of Russell Hall, on the northeast corner of University Boulevard and Hackberry Lane, between noon and 12:30 p.m. for their event.

UA has identified a location for individuals or groups who want to express a differing opinion in the parking lot of Gallallee Hall, at the northwest corner of University Boulevard and Hackberry Lane, between noon and 12:30 p.m. Individuals who plan to join this event must park in the Campus Drive parking deck and surface lot, which can be accessed off Campus Drive."

Neither Kaplan nor Richards were made aware of the university's afternoon announcement that space had been made available for counter protesters at Gallallee Hall.