Demonstration On Campus

A family of five ignited a flurry of emotions last week when they entered our campus with a sign that boldly stated, "Obey Jesus." The group, consisting of a father, mother, and three juvenile children, used a bullhorn to voice their religious beliefs.

Their demonstration began on the grass of Crever, and then they moved to Warrior Way in front of Williams Hall and Wertz. Initially, there were only a few students who experienced what was going on, except a few who were walking through the area. One student talked about how, in the beginning, the statements made by the group were much more targeted to individual students instead of a group of students. Yet as time passed and students got angrier, the comments began to spread, targeting different communities on our Lycoming campus. As the demonstration went on, more students began to form a crowd to witness what was happening and defend all of the Lycoming campus communities this group spoke against.

Their demonstration was temporarily halted when Williamsport police officers intervened. They advised the family they could not continue their demonstration on the school's private property. The seemingly understanding family subsequently moved their demonstration to the nearby Washington Boulevard sidewalk, yelling, "We are moving to the sidewalk. Do not follow us!" through their blowhorn.

School administration advised the students to leave the demonstrators alone because the family's goal became clear that it was more than to preach their extreme religious beliefs but also to get people riled up. Little by little, some students left the demonstration because, as some said, they used the opportunity to express their ability to support the students who needed it during this time, and others had classes to attend.

While the demonstration moved to Washington Boulevard, students moved to the grass in front of Williams. At this point, tensions were heightened when the demonstrators and students engaged in heated exchanges and verbal arguments. After an hour at Washington Boulevard, many students dispersed, and the demonstrators continued.

After the incident, the campus came together at 6 p.m. on September 14th. This community gathering served as an opportunity for students to express their feelings about what went on. Several students shared their feelings about the experience and talked about the lack of action taken by the college and Williamsport Police to protect students adequately. Many shared the sentiment that while they were safe physically, they were not safe mentally.