Students and passers-by gathered once again near the Psychology Building and the University Bookstore to debate with religious demonstrators, including an infamous one who was on campus earlier this month.
John Franklin, 65, the demonstrator present on campus March 5, was back at The Beach again with the same sign telling students to repent. Franklin also said to students that they were not smart enough to know what he considered was the truth.
“You’re too stupid to know what’s right and wrong,” Franklin said.
Much like the previous demonstration, students shouted back at Franklin, telling him to leave the campus.
Joining Franklin this week were Jed Smock and Ruben Israel.
Smock is the founder and president of Campus Ministry USA, which is based out of Columbia, Mo. He said he is touring campuses throughout the country, and has been doing it for 33 years. He said the scene Thursday at Cal State Long Beach was nothing new to him.
“This is a typical response at campuses across the country,” Smock said. Israel also said he also found the reaction of students at CSULB to be normal.
Students seemed to disagree with the demonstrators for the most part, but continued to stand around debating.
“If we’re not making an impact,” Israel said, “why are these students around us?”
While most students remained in the crowd voicing their opinions, a few stepped out.
Jonathan Harthorn, a senior psychology and sociology major, was one of the more vocal students. At one point, he stood next to Smock and showed the crowd his T-shirt, which read “I’m with stooped.” According to Harthorn, he was just passing by when he saw the demonstration.
Harthorn said he thought it was great that these people can come and preach their ideas, but that they were wrongly trying to force their beliefs on students.
Smock spoke against homosexuality, even singing a song against it. Reactively, one male decided to run up to Smock, kiss his cheek and run away.
Standing by the demonstration with a camera handy, Raymond Gonzales, a senior psychology major, was able to take a video of the run-by kiss.
The University Police eventually moved the demonstration to the “free speech area” (the grassy space across in front of the University Bookstore) because it was blocking the sidewalk. For a while, the demonstration lost some of its momentum, but the lull didn’t last long as more students walking by stopped to listen and voice their own opinions.
Ryan Klement, a sophomore film major, had his own opinions of the demonstrators.
“The greatest perfection of God,” Klement said, “is his balance amongst his own characteristics, wrath and justice, [and] also his love and mercy for his creation. This balance is not being displayed by these people claiming to represent God.”
