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You are here: Home > Forum > A Place of Safety > General Talk > Case where my school FAILED students
icon13.gif Case where my school FAILED students  [message #59129] Thu, 15 October 2009 22:45 Go to next message
M is currently offline  M

Likes it here
Location: USA
Registered: September 2003
Messages: 327



A University is place where you come to learn and be exposed to different idiologies. A place where any student should feel safe to have their own opinions and express them when necessary. Am i getting this wrong?

Since i started school, i've noticed religious groups on the streets preaching the word of God. No big deal. Everybody ignores them. They have right to freedom of speech. Students go about their business and nothing happens.

The last few days, they started going inside school property with their signs preaching hate. Please note, these are not students! They are outsiders from different religious organizations. They are not even affiliated with any of the religious organization at school, which many students are a part of.

Today they completely crossed the line. At about noon, they came again with their signs, preaching hate. This time they brought more people. They brought bigger signs. They came prepare to fight. What they didn't expect was the response from the student body. Many students gathered in the courtyard to show them that we will not tolerate hate at our school. They have no right to come to our school and cause a disruption.

What concerns me is that the school allowed this. Administration and school police were present the whole time. People were getting into some heated arguments. It was very disorganized. The school did nothing to provide a safe place for students and protesters. Things could have gotten easily out of hand. I have no idea why the school would allow non students to disrupt the peace. If the protesters were students, then that is a whole different issue, but no, they were outsiders. I don't know what to think. I have very mix feelings. On one side i'm glad students voiced their opinions. On the other, I'm very dissatisfied of how things went.

Here are some pictures of what happened. Pictures speak louder than words.

**No students were holding any the anti-gay signs**

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*the students on stage are all part of the alliance group*

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**one against a mob of students...he didn't get the idea he wasn't welcomed**


and finally.... while trying to get pictures. I saw this on a table. The symbolism is very provocative, but i think it shows a general feeling when people try to preach hate in the name of God.

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[Updated on: Thu, 15 October 2009 22:52]




You don't love someone because they are beautiful, they are beautiful because you love them.
Re: Case where my school FAILED students  [message #59130 is a reply to message #59129] Thu, 15 October 2009 22:59 Go to previous messageGo to next message
timmy

Has no life at all
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13739



You need to protest to your elected representative that you felt intimidated and afraid and that the administration did nothing to prevent that feeling of intimidation.

And you need to get other, many other, individual students to do the same.

Do not under any circumstances start a petition. Individual letters have substantially more weight than a petition.



Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
I also took this video...  [message #59131 is a reply to message #59129] Thu, 15 October 2009 23:15 Go to previous messageGo to next message
M is currently offline  M

Likes it here
Location: USA
Registered: September 2003
Messages: 327



The man was clearly outnumbered and nobody wanted him there.




Students asking to stop the hate!




You don't love someone because they are beautiful, they are beautiful because you love them.
Re: Case where my school FAILED students  [message #59133 is a reply to message #59129] Fri, 16 October 2009 04:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JFR is currently offline  JFR

On fire!
Location: Israel
Registered: October 2004
Messages: 1367



You know, the arrogance of these religious fanatics is in direct disproportion to their intellectual honesty. One of the pictures presented by M shows a placard which quotes the bible (Proverbs 8:13) as proving that God hates homos. Their assumption must be one of two: either that the biblical text can accept any meaning that they say it has or that the people they are preaching to are ignorant of the bible and its plain meaning.

Here is my translation of the quoted verse:

To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and duplicity in speech.

I could probably make out a good case from this verse that God hates the carrying of placards such as this one. But what's the point? (What they forget is that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, not English - and both the Old Testament and the Hebrew Language are things that I know something about!)

Timmy is right, M. Complain, complain, complain.

J F R

[Updated on: Fri, 16 October 2009 04:40]




The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
Re: Case where my school FAILED students  [message #59134 is a reply to message #59133] Fri, 16 October 2009 05:05 Go to previous messageGo to next message
johnleeb is currently offline  johnleeb

Toe is in the water
Location: USA
Registered: January 2009
Messages: 44



On their web site, they are bragging about preaching on 79 campuses.

I sent an email to the religious fanatics at jesse@openairoutreach.com:
------------
Your mission is to cause hate and incite violence! No way are you followers of Christ with your hate mongering!
Those who follow Christ Love and do NOT incite people to hate!
I hope you enjoy being cast into the lake of fire!
------------

They should be inundated with a lot more critical emails, along with prayers to the REAL God, not their FALSE God (AKA the devil).
Re: Case where my school FAILED students  [message #59135 is a reply to message #59129] Fri, 16 October 2009 05:20 Go to previous messageGo to next message
saben is currently offline  saben

On fire!

Registered: May 2003
Messages: 1537



I don't know the situation with Universities in America, but if that happened in Australia I'd work with the Student Union (representative body on campus) to lobby the University Administration and Security to ensure that non-student groups are not allowed to protest on campus. Protests on campus should need the authorisation of either a student or staff representative body, or approval of the Vice Chancellor/ or Dean of a Faculty or something...

Trespassing should not be tolerated.



Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
Re: Case where my school FAILED students  [message #59136 is a reply to message #59135] Fri, 16 October 2009 05:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
saben is currently offline  saben

On fire!

Registered: May 2003
Messages: 1537



Oh and I wouldn't make it a political issue here in Australia banning protesters from University campuses or anything. I'd try and keep it local to my own University rather than going to an elected politician.



Look at this tree. I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time [...] No matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach.
Master Oogway
Re: Case where my school FAILED students  [message #59142 is a reply to message #59129] Fri, 16 October 2009 10:30 Go to previous messageGo to next message
acam is currently offline  acam

On fire!
Location: UK
Registered: July 2007
Messages: 1849



I am appalled.

Some religions truly are as bad as I say they are.

But the advice here seems right to me. Ask your university administration to prevent outside organisations from demonstrating on campus. Ask direct and ask indirect - ask the student organisations to press the university for the same thing.

And thank you for posting, M. I'm very glad to know about it.

Love,
Anthony
Some more info....  [message #59144 is a reply to message #59129] Fri, 16 October 2009 14:08 Go to previous messageGo to next message
M is currently offline  M

Likes it here
Location: USA
Registered: September 2003
Messages: 327



Everybody is wondering how is it possible these people can come to our school and do what they do?

According to friend, who has more connections than i do, he said this to me...

Topher Scott
My understanding is the the University System of GA ok'd this and GSU's hands were tied. I also understand the GSU has filed a class action lawsuit in response.

I still believe the school could have handled this better if they knew people like this had permission to come to our school. Like provide them with a designated area within the school grounds to avoid any possible confrontations.

[Updated on: Fri, 16 October 2009 14:09]




You don't love someone because they are beautiful, they are beautiful because you love them.
Re: Some more info....  [message #59145 is a reply to message #59144] Fri, 16 October 2009 14:28 Go to previous message
arich is currently offline  arich

Really getting into it
Location: Seaofstars
Registered: August 2003
Messages: 563



The sad thing is that they are once again doing what has been done through out history, using God to support something that God has nothing what so ever to do with. It’s just another expression of how insecure they are. I am really amazes why so many miss the point; Unconditional love!



People will tell you where they've gone
They'll tell you where to go
But till you get there yourself you never really know
Where some have found their paradise
Other's just come to harm
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