About 50 students gathered in Kogan Plaza to protest a Christian organization’s demonstration on campus Wednesday afternoon.
Three men from Born Again, a Christian organization, gathered near Potomac Square Wednesday morning with signs boasting messages like “Fear the LORD and Depart From Evil” and “Ye Must Be Born Again” and moved to Kogan Plaza at about 2 p.m. Students protesting the Born Again demonstrators soon arrived and played songs, like “God is a Woman” by Ariana Grande and “I Don’t Fuck With You” by Big Sean, on speakers.
GW Police Department officers were stationed on scene to monitor the protesters, University spokeswoman Crystal Nosal said.
Ryan, a Born Again demonstrator who declined to give his last name, said the holy spirit brought Born Again to campus.
“We go all over the country or all over the world and preach the Gospel,” he said. “This is what we love to do, and God has given us this great desire and a heart to do this.”
[gwh_image id=”1102453″ credit=”Arielle Bader | Assistant Photo Editor ” align=”none” size=”embedded-img”]Students watch from a room in District House as students protest outside of Kogan Plaza. [/gwh_image]
Adam, a Born Again demonstrator who declined to give his last name, said he and his friends came to D.C. to preach at the World Series.
“We’re here to warn the people,” he said. “We live in a wicked generation that doesn’t know about God. They don’t know about the Bible.”
Freshman Helen Newell said GWPD should have prohibited the group from demonstrating on campus because the group’s presence infringes upon religious freedom.
“GWPD did this with the abortion protestors and here today,” Newell said. “They have their right to free speech, but we also have a right to have a campus where we feel safe. I don’t feel safe.”
Senior Becca Lewis said GWPD officers should have intervened in the protest because the Born Again group made her feel uncomfortable.
“It’s a little absurd that GWPD is just standing there passively, looking and watching this and not doing anything,” Lewis said. “It is pretty obvious that these people think we are a bunch of godless liberals.”
Actors from the upcoming performance of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” arrived on scene in costumes. The cast members and several students chanted “anal sex and oral sex and whips and chains.”
Tiffany Garcia contributed reporting.
