Gateway

Media Credit: photo by Crystal R. Reid Evangelical Christian preacher Jeremy Sonnier goes nose to nose with freshman Brandon Bone. (photo by Crystal R. Reid) [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: photo by Crystal R. Reid Students gather in the Student Center plaza to protest the presence of evangelical Christian street preachers. (photo by Crystal R. Reid) [Click to enlarge]

Angry students surrounded a group of evangelical street preachers in the plaza of the Milo Bail Student Center on Monday.

The plaza became crowded with students who tossed insults, arguments and, at one point, food at the preachers. One pair of male students stood in front of the preachers and kissed.

Jeremy Sonnier of Portland, Ore., led the preachers with a large white banner propped up above his shoulders. The sign warned everyone from "Roman Catholics" and "lazy Christians" to "porno freaks" and "money lovers" that "Jesus will judge you."

A major tenet of evangelical Christianity is the requirement to take to the streets and preach.

"I'm here to provoke thought ... and to preach the gospel," he said.

Sonnier represented a group called the Open Air Proclaimer/Reformer Church, and was accompanied by members of the Glory Christian Fellowship Church of Oakland, Iowa.

Women and young girls dressed in long skirts, sneakers and white bonnets handed out religious tracts, while Sonnier and two other men "preached the gospel," according to a 'use of facilities permit' request.

Strumming an acoustic guitar and singing songs of impending judgment, one man refused to share his name. The other man, much like Sonnier, rallied back and forth in heated debate with students.

Several students believed that Sonnier and the others were out seeking attention.

Freshman Tiffany Price said "People need to back off. He's getting the attention he wants."

Other students believed that the group was in the plaza exercising their First Amendment rights.

Many students found Sonnier's signage and arguments against gays, Catholics and abortion offensive.

"It's kind of ridiculous. Extremely ridiculous. Are they God?" said freshman Casey Bigsby.

Even though she believed Sonnier should have been ignored, Price found it hard to accept his position on Catholicism.

"I'm a sinner because I'm Roman Catholic?" she said.

Freshman Lance Molina believes that Sonnier and his followers were out of line for attacking Molina's veteran status.

"I'm a veteran and they told me I'm going to hell for defending their right to be saying this," he said.

At one point, an egg was broken on the back of Sonnier's head. As yolk and shell dripped down his neck onto his sweatshirt, several students cheered and laughed.

Dennis Goodwin, sophomore, said "I wouldn't have done it (the egging), but it was fun to watch."

Some students found the egging unjustified.

Chris Smith, a business administration major said, "I think it's [expletive deleted] up. No one should mess with you when [you're exercising your rights]."

Students believed the volatile reaction was inevitable.

Senior Tony Barker, a journalism major, said, "That's his Constitutional right, but [being on a college campus] is just a recipe for disaster."

Many of the students went directly up to Sonnier and taunted him. One female student who also chose not to share her name asked if she was going to hell because she was Jewish. Sonnier didn't answer.

The female student looked at freshman Brandon Bone, who had been standing in front of Sonnier for nearly an hour, and said, "This isn't Jesus. This is discrimination."

Sonnier found the reaction of the crowd disturbing.

"[Their reaction] makes me think that they're very closed-minded and disrespectful," Sonnier said of the crowd.

Sonnier said he has been traveling across the area, including visits to Iowa State University, Wichita State University and the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

Sonnier was a plaintiff in a suit filed against the mayor of Portland, Ore., along with three other Evangelical Christians. The suit, against Mayor Vera Katz and several other city officials, accused Katz and the city of Portland of infringing on their First Amendment rights to assemble and to freedom speech. The suit filed in March of 2000 was resolved in favor of Sonnier and his fellow plaintiffs earlier this year.

Sonnier said he is a native of Lafayette, La., though several news reports cite different cities as his home including, New Orleans and Las Vegas.

The group also came to campus on Friday, but was escorted up to Sharon Darling in the business office of the student center because they hadn't applied for a permit.

Due to a clerical error, the group was unable to fill out a request for public use of facilities on Friday, so they returned Monday to fill it out.

The director of the student center, Jim Welsch, did not sign off the request because he was not working Monday, Darling said.

By the end of the day, an assistant signed off on the request, Darling said.

The request was made by Robert Breaud, and specified that the group, the Open Air Proclaimer/Reformer Church, would be preaching from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday.

Only Breaud signed his name on the document.

Article Tools