A number of Denison University student organizations, led by the Campus Environment Team (CET) and Outlook, are planning a special Academic Quad activity on Friday (April 25) to celebrate diversity on campus. Set for 4 to 6 p.m. and titled "commUNITY Fest: No Place for Hate," the festival will include a special welcome from President Dale T. Knobel, and a host of other activities.

"We're hopeful that 'commUNITY Fest' will become an annual event," said Samuel J. Thios, vice president for student affairs and dean of students. "While the proposed visit by Westboro Baptist Church influenced the timing of this first 'commUNITY Fest,'" Thios noted, "the opportunity to celebrate our campus diversity is appropriate at any time. Our campus compact says 'Denison University is a community where individuals respect one another' and that 'we celebrate diversity as a strength from which we grow and learn from one another.'"

President Dale T. Knobel is set to speak to the participants at 4:40 p.m. and be followed by the Rev. George Williamson, pastor of theFirst Baptist Church, discussing sexuality and religion. Other expected participants include: a student bluegrass ensemble, The Hilltoppers and Ladies Night Out, men's and women's a cappella vocal groups; and a "praise band" from the Campus Crusade organization. Additional musical entertainment will be provided by WDUB (91.1 FM), the student-run, campus radio station.

"Through a series of discussions that we (CET and Outlook) have engaged in withHigh School representatives," said Denison junior Brooke Bluestein, one of the Outlook organizers, "we decided that the most productive response would be a demonstration of our celebration of diversity." (Granville High School was also targeted in messages from the Westboro church group.) Campus organizations were asked by CET and Outlook for support by providing representatives to sing, dance or speak during the program or to set up a table at the festival with information about the group. "We want to show the people that Denison University is not a place of hate, but rather of peace," Bluestein said.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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