Milca Elvira Chacon
Second year student Anakin Hunter, right, disagrees with the speaker's message and prays after listening to him outside of the Bell Memorial Union at Chico State Tuesday, Sep. 24, 204.
A crowd of students and faculty gathered in front of the Bell Memorial Union on Tuesday, as a man who said his name is Brother Matt addressed them with inflammatory religious rhetoric. Crowd members said that the man had been there since about 11 a.m. and was still there at 2 p.m.
Chico State free speech facilitators in high visibility vests were on the scene directing the crowd and ensured a moderated environment. Crowd members argued back and forth, and some approached the man for a more personal conversation.
Fourth-year student Alma Kirana Miranda-Rodrigez was among the crowd, and said that the situation was making her feel unsafe, as she didn’t want it to escalate any further.
“I think his intent is to convert or to bring people closer to the church, but it’s doing the complete opposite,” Miranda-Rodrigez said.
Mara Chand, a third-year English education major, was in the audience for more than 20 minutes.
“You’re on the wrong campus spewing this stuff. Saying ‘We’re all gonna burn in hell for having sex and being gay and vaping,’” Chand said.
Fourth-year cultural anthropology major Adin White said the situation presented an opportunity to discuss free speech, and empowered students to confront someone they disagree with, himself engaging with the speaker.
“I think somehow every rebuttal that a student offers somehow galvanizes him further and strengthens his entrenchment in his beliefs,” White said.
Second-year Anakin Hunter was on her way to Chico State’s bike shop when the big crowd caught her attention.
Though Hunter isn’t a Christian, they have recently started reading the Bible. Hunter thought what he was saying went against everything they had read.
While he was speaking, Hunter bowed their head in silence and started to pray.
“Like I’m not mad at him, because it’s clear that something happened that makes him feel he needs to be out here telling people that the way they live is wrong, even though he has no clue how anyone lives, ” Hunter said.
Cloitzel Ahumada, a fourth-year who practices Catholicism, was one of many students who responded directly to his statements.
“My thing is, like, you can go out and talk and preach whatever you want, but at that point, it was just being hateful and just, rude, and that’s why I said something,” Ahumada said. “I was like, ‘Well, you can’t judge people, the same way that we have our sins, you do too.’”
Callum Standish, Milca Elvira Chacon and Nathan Chiochios can be reached at orionmanagingeditor@gmail.com.