Extra Credit Blog

                  The protest in front of Heth hall I feel has caused a lot of controversy on campus.  The man leading the event is very strong in what he believes and will not take any other person’s opinions.  I feel he believes that he is some sort of prophecy spreading God’s word to people on campus.  I do not agree with what this man is doing.  Specifically, there was a guy who asked if he could ask the event leader a question. Whether the guy asking the question was joking or not, I do not think he deserved the response he got.  I did not hear the question being asked, but the response given was “That’s because you are the devil and are going to hell!”.  I understand that many students seem to be provoking him, but I do not believe he has a right to be on campus shouting such things at students.  The “preacher” also went on to point people out in the crowd and say which of them had no self respect or moral standards.  If he wanted any student to listen to him, shouting at them and attempting to embarrass them in front of others is not the way.  I find it quite comical that he believes he is doing such a great deed when he is breaking most norms and teachings of religions.  Most religions teach with peace and kindness to get their point across.  In another instance, a student was provoking the man saying he was wrong and shouting inappropriate language at him.  While I do not agree with provoking someone just to get a heated response, the man said “you should call your mother and father and apologize for being such a horrible sinner”.  The student then called his mother and told the man that his mother, nicely put, did not agree with him.  The preacher then shouted vulgar things about the student’s mother in front of the entire crowd.  The student then got intensely angry and was being held back by his friends.  I then noticed that the preacher was wearing a camera strapped to his chest.  I then concluded that he is getting people riled up to see how far they will take it, until they possibly take a swing at him.  In doing this, they are giving him evidence to take to a court of law and say “he was just preaching his beliefs”.  This angered me because I feel that the preacher was only there to get attention for himself and cause chaos.  I sat there and listened for about fifteen or twenty minutes, and when I left, I felt that I had gotten no real point or reason to what he was even saying.  All I got from his protest was that he was an insane man screaming at young college students to get attention.  I do not agree at all with his protest or how he is conducting the event itself.  I believe it is ignorant and is having a negative impact on campus and the students.