Kutztown has been no stranger to radical religious demonstrators this semester, each demonstration gaining more traction than the prior. The seriousness of these events reached its peak on Thursday, November 30, upon the arrival of Matthew 24 Ministries.
The radical group assembled directly in front of South Dining Hall—the first time they’ve demonstrated on the residential side of campus this year—sometime after 11 AM. Two men and women, a teenage boy, and a young boy displayed their hate-sketched signs while two young girls sat in their chairs silently. Submissively.
Their signs read things such as, “Homos and Muslims go to Hell”, “Feminists are whores”, and “Women belong in the kitchen.”
They held a skull with the LGBTQ+ flag attached to it, and struck it to the ground. Later, they placed it on top of a pole as if it were a stake.
A rape survivor was told it was “good” that she was raped.
One demonstrator told a female student, “You’re the reason I don’t date black women.”
When confronted by a transgendered student, another demonstrator referred to them as a “freak” and an “abomination to God.”
To the crowd of students, one demonstrator proclaimed, “Some of you are a suicide note waiting to happen.” This statement was swiftly followed by, “Go kill yourselves.”
“If God loved the gays he would’ve jammed the bullet in the gun,” the same demonstrator yelled, referencing the Orlando nightclub shooting.
The young boy was encouraged by the adults to preach while holding the “Feminists are whores” sign. The child proceeded to point at individual women in the crowd and call them whores.
However, the pure hatred within these individuals did not deter the strong will of Kutztown’s students. Waving pride flags and raising homemade signs combatting the vile words of this group, the sense of unity within the student body was overwhelming. You could feel the acceptance and support of everyone in the crowd. People would talk, joke, and even hug complete strangers. You learned each other’s stories without ever meeting them before; I met an amazing couple that got engaged at Pride and learned their entire love story. We as students became unified through fighting for what we believe in, and that is the most beautiful gesture anyone could experience.
However, our university has told its students to remain silent when confronted by these groups; that their hands are tied when it comes to intervening because of the First Amendment. However, fighting words—which, according to the Legal Information Institute, is defined as “words which ‘by their very utterance, inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace’”—are not protected by the First Amendment. In simpler terms, hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment.
I don’t know about you, Bias Response Task Force, but everything this group said seems to be hate speech. It is the most blatant use of hate speech imaginable, directed at your students. These are your students being oppressed and threatened on their own campus.
Instead of claiming your university “rejects all forms of bigotry, racism, and discrimination”, why don’t you instill better policies to prove it?
Sincerely,
Students Tired of Fighting for the Change You Refuse to Make
To the people out there with us: you are heroes, and you should be proud of your contribution to change.
Sincerely,
Katie and Katie