Two street evangelism groups held a demonstration at the University of Georgia’s Tate Plaza, a designated forum for expressive activity on UGA’s campus, on Nov. 3. The groups held signs with derogatory messages about multiple groups of people, including LGBTQ+ people and women. Students who gathered to protest the presence of the groups said the preachers called the students slurs.
The preaching groups upset students and raised questions about UGA’s freedom of expression policies.
An upsetting demonstration
Sweden Dolan and Taylor Shults were both present at the Nov. 3 demonstration at Tate Plaza with World Outreach Evangelistic Ministries and WALKabout Jesus.
Dolan, a freshman intended entertainment and media studies major, said many of the students at the demonstration were drawn to what they called “funny” signs held by the group, displaying messages such as “Warning: Wearing yoga pants may lead to lesbianism.”
Yet the preachers also held signs with sexist slurs to describe women they perceived to not be wearing enough clothing, stating “these hoes haveth no clothes,” anti-feminist messages relaying ideas such as women need nothing but the Bible, God and a good cookbook and that women don’t need to be in college.
Shults, a freshman intended entertainment and media studies and management major, said she first learned about the demonstration through the UGA Pride GroupMe on Nov. 2, when World Outreach Evangelistic Ministries and WALKabout Jesus were seen outside at the Memorial Plaza, upsetting members of the GroupMe due to their message against the LGBTQ+ community.
Dolan said it was fun to be there with people who were also laughing at the demonstration until the group — specifically Daniel Rusk, the perceived leader of the group — began using slurs distinctively recognized as anti-gay, directed at members of the crowd.
“I actually got directly called the f-slur to my face,” Dolan said.
The preachers were in one of UGA’s designated free speech zones, which can be reserved by university or non-university groups, according to UGA’s Freedom of Expression Policy. Some students felt their presence on campus was offensive and made students feel unsafe.
The freedom of speech policy does not protect everything. Some exceptions to protected speech include obscenity, fighting words (“a direct personal insult directed at a specific person”), defamation and “true threats,” according to the UGA freedom of expression policy frequently asked questions.
“When I was there, it was before they had brought out the ropes to keep the crowd from getting too close to them and them getting too close to the crowd,” Shults said. “It was starting to get to the point where the crowd was yelling things at them, and 100% I understand where the crowd’s coming from, because what they were saying was completely sexist, homophobic, some of it racist.”
Designated forums
World Outreach Evangelistic Ministries and WALKabout Jesus are not affiliated with the university, meaning they are only permitted to utilize the designated forums for expressive activity, and can only do so by reservation through the associate dean of students, Jan Davis Barham, according to the UGA freedom of expression policy.
The designated forums are the North West Lawn, Tate Plaza and Memorial Plaza, and described by the freedom of expression policy as being “centrally-located, highly-trafficked areas that are particularly well-suited for expressive activity, including speeches and demonstrations.”
A designated forum may be used for nonviolent demonstrations and expression without reservation by university community members on Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., as long as the specific designated forum has not been previously reserved by another speaker for the requested time, according to the UGA freedom of expression policy.
Shults said while in attendance of the demonstration at Tate Plaza, she got tired of standing in the middle section and moved to the side section, where the dean of students, Bill McDonald, was standing.
“I spent a good portion of the protest talking to the dean and asking him, why is this allowed?” Shults said.
Shults said McDonald often deflected her questions in regard to student safety at the demonstration. She said she asked about the effects it could have on students post-protest.
“I was told that if I wanted to have coffee with him to talk about my opinions, I could,” Shults said.
Dolan said he understands that people’s beliefs allow them to think that they can call people slurs, but that he also believes McDonald’s role as dean of students is to protect the students.
Rod Guajardo, a UGA spokesperson, said in an email to The Red & Black that no rights at UGA are more highly regarded than the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the right to assemble peaceably.
“The university is legally obligated to prioritize both safety and the First Amendment rights of our students, faculty and staff during any event hosted on campus, and we take this responsibility seriously,” Guajardo said.
Dolan said he believes McDonald did not protect and advocate students’ rights on Nov. 3. He said he wished UGA would have released a statement denouncing the actions and slurs used by World Outreach Evangelistic Ministries and WALKabout Jesus.
“He let someone call us hate speech to our faces and protected the person calling us hate speech, which is disappointing, incredibly disappointing,” Dolan said.
If anyone who attended the World Outreach Evangelistic Ministries and WALKabout Jesus event heard language they believe violates the Non-Discrimination Anti-Harassament Policy, they can report the language to the Equal Opportunity Office for potential review under the NDAH Policy, Guajardo said. Information on filing complaints can be found at https://eoo.uga.edu/eoo-report, according to Guajardo.
