Although Monday’s Westboro Baptist Church protest lasted less than 30 minutes, Ohio State officials and student groups began preparing for the protesters months before their arrival.

“We have long known about this visit from Westboro Baptist and we are familiar with their efforts across the country,” said OSU spokesman Jim Lynch. He said he knew about the protest for three months.

Representatives from OSU Public Safety, the Ohio Union, the Multicultural Center and other organizations attended meetings during the summer to prepare for the protest.

“We all came together to talk about what the plan of action was,” said Angie Wellman, intercultural specialist at the Multicultural Center in the Ohio Union.

The Multicultural Center sponsored the Ally T-shirt Campaign, which offered students free T-shirts that read “Ally” on the front and listed cultural groups, many of which are targets of the Westboro Baptist Church, on the back.

The Multicultural Center also planned OUT on the Plaza, a fair to inform students about what resources are available to the gay community on campus.

“It’s about trying to build allies and educate folks that don’t know much about the communities that the Westboro Baptist Church is talking about,” Wellman said.

When coordinators of the Westboro LoveBomb Party to Benefit the Columbus AIDS Task Force created a Facebook event in August, 1,800 people said they would attend.

“It blew up overnight,” said Arlene Miles, 32, one of the coordinators. We wanted “to get people together and show them that in our city, we don’t tolerate this kind of hate. Ultimately, it’s about living as a community.”

About 500 people attended, and the LoveBomb Party raised about $100, which will be donated to the Columbus AIDS Task Force in the name of Westboro Baptist Church pastor Fred Phelps, Wellman said.

Public safety was OSU Police Chief Paul Denton’s primary goal. About 15 officers from the OSU Police Department surrounded the Westboro Baptist Church members, separating them from the crowd.

“We are going to protect constitutional rights,” Denton said. “Our students … know that we have an inclusive campus, that we reject any kind of prejudice and exclusion or disrespect.”