A small group of Christian speakers set up a table on University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Library Mall Wednesday afternoon to spread homophobic messages.
The speakers set up a table at the intersection of State Street and East Campus Mall with a sign that read “HOMOEXUALITY DESTROYS FAMILY, CHANGE MY MIND.” They challenged onlookers to come to the table and debate their views.
A Christian speaker, left, debating the morality of homosexuality with a counter-protestor, right, on Library Mall.
One of the speakers, who identified herself as Ang, said the group came from the Milwaukee area to spread Christian messages to the UW-Madison community.
“We are Christians, and we believe that if someone is walking down a dangerous path — which homosexuality is, it’s a sin — we hope that we as Christians can tell them the love of Christ,” Ang said.
Gavin Fancher, a student at UW-Madison, sat down at the table to debate with the speakers.
“I saw this young man expelling his beliefs like he is allowed to do in a free society, and I thought that it was my civic responsibility to tell him that I did not believe the same thing,” Fancher said. “I was basically telling him that I did not think that it was his place to tell other people how they should live their lives.”
Another UW-Madison student, who identified herself as Lauren, said she protested against the speakers for two hours. She also said one of the speakers said the f-slur, and another said that “Hitler would get accepted into Heaven, but gay people would not.”
Nick Proell, one of the Christian speakers, denied that anyone said "Hitler would get accepted into Heaven, but gay people would not."
“I hope UW-Madison would condemn this because I don’t think this makes any of us feel safe on campus,” Lauren said. “I hope they would issue a statement about it at least, but I highly doubt that will happen.”
Dean of Students Christina Olstad watched over the speakers and protestors alongside other UW administrators and UWPD officers. Tonya Schmidt, assistant Dean of Students, also watched over the protestors on Wednesday.
“We're here in case something does become a student issue or does become a safety issue so that we can talk with people,” Schmidt said during the protest. “But we know that this is impacting our students.”
Editor's note: This story was updated on November 3 at 2:24 p.m. to include a comment from Nick Proell.
Drake White-Bergey is the editor-in-chief and photo editor emeritus of The Daily Cardinal. As a photojournalist, his coverage focuses on politics and protests. Drake is a fourth-year student studying History and Journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. You can follow him on Instagram at @whitebergey.photography and on Twitter at @DWhiteBergey.
