The Daily Toreador - Student Newspaper of Texas Tech

Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Trent Barnes

Open Air Outreach ministries was back in action in the "free-speech zone" of the Texas Tech campus Friday.

Jesse Morrell, an evangelist with the ministry, said his purpose at Tech is to tell students what the Bible teaches. Some students said they felt he was preaching hate.

"Homosexuals hijacked the word 'gay,' they hijacked the rainbow," Morrell said. "I think 'gay' is an offensive word to God. I'll call them sodomites or queers, I even prefer the word 'homo' over the word 'gay' - at least it's not as offensive as 'gay.'"

David Simmerman, a senior history major from Allen, said he believes Morrell's purpose contradicted that of Christianity.

"I think it's ridiculous that someone who considers himself a man of God comes here to preach out of fear instead of love," Simmerman said. "That's not what Christianity is to me."

Samuel Hurt, a sophomore Russian major from Odessa, said he believes the ministry's heart is in the right place, and he said he wondered if the evangelists were trying to convert people or simply antagonize the crowd. He said the ministry mostly quotes scriptures, but he wouldn't be surprised if its members made offensive remarks.

"I'm starting to think they are doing it just for the shock value and the chance to argue and yell at someone," Hurt said.

The focus of Morrell's speech changed from Christianity to Islam.

"Muhammad had an eight-year-old wife," Morrell said as he held a copy of the Quran in front of his face. "But he didn't penetrate her until she was twelve; that's a historical fact."

A member of the crowd asked Morrell why he believed the Quran if he didn't believe in the teachings of Islam.

Morrell said he believed nobody can be certain of the word of man.

"I didn't hear that in the Quran; it's a historical fact, I have faith in it," Morrell said.

The Student Code of Conduct defines one type of misconduct as, "Excessive pressure, threats or any form of conduct, coercive tactics or unwanted mental coercion techniques used to retain or recruit a student for membership in an organization."

Matt Fowler, internal vice-president of the Student Government Association, said the free-speech zone is court-mandated and open to all members of the community, but it is a student forum first and foremost.

"I don't think there are any legal issues," Fowler said. "It is your right as a student to stand there and listen or to walk by and not pay any attention."

Fowler said it is unclear at what point the Student Code of Conduct rules become regulations and go beyond governing students.

"Students have never approached us asking us to do anything about (Open Air Outreach's) presence here," he said. "Even if they would, I don't know exactly how far we could go to prevent it."

Court records of the Supreme Court's decision in Cohen v. California state speech that is merely offensive is protected under the First Amendment.

Micheal Gunn, assistant director of Student Activities, said university policies and their enforcement is the responsibility of the Tech community as a whole.

"I don't believe we should do anything to limit freedom of expression, and our policies are set up for that," Gunn said, "as long as it doesn't interfere with the academic mission of the university."

The "Assumptions and Beliefs" section of the Tech Student Handbook states: "Any expression of hatred or prejudice is inconsistent with the purposes of higher education in a free society."

After listening to audio recordings of Morell's speech, Gunn said he considered some of Morrell's statements to be "hate speech." He said Morrell could have been relocated or escorted off-campus if someone informed the office, which would have been enabled to asses the situation.

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