Liv Dewhirst, a USC sophomore studying dramatic arts and film, was on her way to class on Wednesday, Nov. 5, when she heard warnings of hellfire, damnation and orders to “Repent!” from a loudspeaker.
The dramatic warnings came from a group of Christian preachers standing near Gavin Herbert Plaza, just outside campus. As someone who identifies as agnostic but has an interest in religion, Dewhirst decided to stop and ask the leader of the group a few questions of her own.
“He was disturbing people, and I figured if I could talk to him for a bit, starve him and have a nice chat without the speaker,” Dewhirst said.
Dewhirst was one of several USC students engaged in robust debates with a small group of evangelical anti-abortion preachers.
The preachers, members of the Reformed Baptist Church of Douglas County, Oregon, addressed heavy foot traffic through an amplified speaker near the intersection of South Hoover Street and West Jefferson Boulevard, just outside USC Village. Their messages and graphic signage drew criticism and arguments from students, some of whom described the demonstration as hateful, provocative and unwelcome.
“It’s not even a political opinion,” said Lily Sanfelippo, a sophomore studying economics. “It’s just hate speech.”
First-year business administration student Julia Weber said it was “the most insensitive, out of touch and gross thing I’ve seen.”
Mason Goodknight, the group’s head preacher, said the group regularly travels to public gatherings to share their religious beliefs. “We go anywhere there’s a large gathering of people. Festivals, farmers markets, parades,” Goodknight said. “We like to go where we can to preach Jesus Christ. I’ve been punched, I’ve been kicked out, but I’m a big guy, I take the shots.”
Several students told Annenberg Media they questioned why an Oregon-based group chose to bring its message to USC.
Parisa Shariff, a junior studying international relations, said, “I think they’re using religion to spread hate.”
Casey Fenton, a Christian evangelist preacher from Roseburg, Oregon, explained that they see universities as important places to spread their message.
“We believe that in colleges, a lot of students have rejected Christ or haven’t heard the gospel. There are some sins that get celebrated, like abortion,” Fenton said. “We are Christians from Oregon who were down here for a pastors’ conference, and we’re visiting universities on our way back up.”
“It’s an incredibly formative time in an individual’s life, and because they’re valuable, and because Christ has called us to go and preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we are here sharing the good news,” Fenton said. “We go to the University of Oregon often. We did UNC, UCLA and we did Berkeley last year.”
Fenton acknowledged that the group’s message frequently receives a negative reception.
“Typically, it’s been a lot of mockery,” Fenton said. “People who have different opinions are less likely to engage in conversation.”
Chaela Geurink, a junior majoring in psychology, described the demonstration as “disgusting and intentionally provoking.”
Sienna Woolf, a senior studying business, criticized the group’s use of religion to spread what she considered hateful messages. Woolf said the demonstrators gave Christians a “bad reputation.”
Will Hoffman, a freshman studying neuroscience, debated with one of the demonstrators for nearly 30 minutes.
“I’m glad he had a good conversation with me,” Hoffman said after the debate was over. “But frankly, several of his views are crazy to me. But since we live in a free speech society, you should be able to express what you believe, whether it’s crazy or not.”
Brady Travers, a sophomore studying public relations, said they believed the demonstration was intended to provoke reactions from students.
“It’s very disheartening to see, especially on a college campus, with so many coming from so many different backgrounds, it just feels like a very one-minded view of life and especially after the elections,” Travers said. “I think they’re targeting to get a reaction out of people, and I think we shouldn’t give them a reaction.”
Economics and psychology master’s student Zack Culver finished his debate with, “We’ll agree to disagree.”
Edited by Ally Nakamura and Katherine Contreras Hernandez