Screaming loud enough to hear from heaven and hell.
That was the experience when two Christian pastors associated with the YouTube channel “ChristTrekker” came to campus Tuesday, Sept. 26 to preach against, the LGBTQ+ community, and other behavior they considered sinful.
ChristTrekker describes itself as a “street preaching ministry aimed at preaching the gospel and bringing the truth to those who need it.” They regularly go to college campuses to preach their message which often spark counter-demonstrations from students.
“We public evangelists are the lightning rods,” said the pastor Rich Suplita in a livestream the following day.
Students used several methods of protest to show their disagreement with the pastors. One student began building a “Lego Star Wars” set, which one of the pastors described as “beta behavior.” Several students broke out into a dance routine to an unknown song based off of a “Just Dance” YouTube video. Other students wore flags representing their place in the LGBTQ+ community.
“The reason why we’re here today is to protest this man and his teachings of hellfire. He is not welcome on our campus, and he is not a good person,” student Anthony DeFlorio said.
ChristTrekker has been to WCU several times and has, according to students, allegedly been involved in fights on campus, though the presence of security prevented any violence on Tuesday.
“I’m here today to show people that all Christians are not negative. I’m a Christian and I identify as LGBTQ, that doesn’t mean God hates us,” DeFlorio’s girlfriend Madison Overturf said.
The pastors have access to campus through WCU’s status as a public university. This allows them to use its public spaces.
“Western Carolina University prides itself on being a public university committed to institutional values, including the free and open interchange of ideas. As a public institution we have an obligation to uphold the freedoms of expression and speech guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and N.C. Constitution. Finally, free speech is central to our educational mission,” Interim Dean of Students Betty Aspinwall said in an email.
The university is aware of the potential for violence at these types of events and keeps security personnel close by during the events.
