On Tuesday April 10th, I exited my Psychology 1101 class at 12:45 pm. While walking to the JSAC for lunch, I (naturally) couldn’t help but notice an abnormally large crowd circled around two people. Upon coming closer, I saw one man waving a Bible in the air and another waving (beautifully well done) art. The Bible man shouted, “Love Jesus! Love Jesus!” while the art wielder replied with, “Love art! Love art!” At that moment, I was just happy the man with the Bible wasn’t preaching extremist Christian beliefs, so I shrugged, admitted I loved both, and strolled away to lunch.

While eating in the JSAC, I simply watched the crowd wax and wane outside. Eventually the male with the artwork stepped aside, and the man was alone in the center, seemingly preaching. Curious, I finished up my lunch and ventured outside again, hoping I wasn’t going to hear extremist, negative beliefs being preached.

But that’s exactly what I heard. The self-proclaimed preacher declared that we (college students) were wasting our money on alcohol, condoms, and our liberal-leaning education–AND that we would go to hell for this. Also, for having premarital sex and tattoos, or for being homosexual, we were going to hell. Oh, don’t let me forget about the sinful way we dress. I heard this and more, prompting me to internally sigh and shake my head; however, I stayed and listened as I couldn’t help but find his radical preaching entertaining but mystifying at the same time. How could someone live with so much negativity in his beliefs, in his life?

In the midst of the spectacle, several students who were watching questioned the preacher, cheered what he deemed sinful natures, and attempted to counterattack his words. It was almost more entertaining than television; however, at a certain point it was annoying overall, and I left.

I remember that there was one student who spoke out, basically saying we didn’t want or ask for this crazy preacher to be here and that he should leave. I was tempted to reply that he has freedom of speech (and probably a permit), and that if we really wanted him to leave, we’d all leave him alone and ignore him. I didn’t say this, but I was told later that someone else (I think it might have been a professor or campus police) suggested this obvious and honestly very effective approach to getting him to leave.

I’m unsure as to when he left exactly, but I must say, his appearance did certainly offer a change, a small but interesting tweak in my day. I respect his freedom to believe in what he wishes to store his belief in, but I definitely find most of what he proclaimed unnecessarily extreme and positively ludicrous.

Other Posts by Brittney

• The End
• The Honors Program: Now and Future
• Early Morning Fire Alarms
• How to be a Transient Student
• Swim Team?
• What am I doing with my life?
• High Stress?
• We're Almost There!
• Camping with Ricketson
• Tips for Starting a Workout Schedule at the JSAC
• What ASU Really Needs
• Discovery
• Chilling on the Express
• A Beautiful Day

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