Michael Caizzi
Connector Staff
If you walked through South Campus last Wednesday, you may have seen a student holding a sign that read “I eat ass-Jesus” and another waving a Communist flag. You may have heard student’s chanting “bullshit!” You may have seen several men yelling to a large crowd that evolution was a lie, and that the idea of it caused the Holocaust. You may have heard students yelling exactly why they felt that was wrong.
On that day, South Campus was not the quiet, relaxed place it usually is. The campus was filled with shouting and heated debate as several Evangelical Baptists came to campus from Virginia to preach and spread messages many students did not necessarily agree with.
Standing on a stool behind a sign that read “Evolution is a Lie” was Don Karns, a man attempting to preach the theory of intelligent design, which many of the students were not receptive to.
“We came because we love the students, and we want to spread the Gospel’s and the message of our savior, Jesus Christ,” said Karns. Despite the roaring chants of “Bullshit!” Karns felt the student body was generally respectful, saying, “There are the students who are really loud and get all the attention, but there are some we received encouragement from.”
Sean Lobberecht, a history major, disagreed with Karns when it came to the students’ behavior. “Some of the students are being kind of disrespectful, but it is a public campus and they’re just voicing their own opinions,” said Lobberecht.
Christine Anderson, an English education major, was appalled by the message being spread and the misrepresentation of this religion. “This is not Christianity,” says Anderson. “Christianity is about love. It’s not about yelling at people and telling them they’re sinners. It disgusts me how it’s being misrepresented like this.”
Not all students were particularly invested in either side of the argument. Alex Simpson, a music business major, said he was more entertained by the chaos of it all than anything else. “They’re probably here to just hear themselves yell,” he said.
The UMass Lowell police were present throughout the several-hour spectacle.
“It went pretty well,” said Officer Joe Brown. “The students were generally well behaved, and there were no incidents. I think the real problem was a lot of the students were taking it personally when they really shouldn’t have.”
