Jack Glagola, News Editor
The Compass, at the epicenter of the campus, hosts speakers and events of all kinds – from advertising for university clubs to protests against the war in Gaza and housing petitions to religious sermons.
The preachers have proved controversial in the past, with some students accusing them of spreading homophobic and bigoted messages under the guise of religious discussions. Last year, students formed a crowd to play music and heckle the speakers, according to a previous Commonwealth Times article.
Several religious messengers appear on campus. Some walk around asking if people want to come to church with them. Jehovah’s Witnesses offer literature to passersby. Some hold up signs offering a “free test” to find out whether or not you “go to heaven.” Another delivers sermons on the sidewalk through a loudspeaker. Others have a history of holding hateful signs denouncing groups of people who are “going to hell,” including LGBTQ+ people, non-believers, and atheists.
Nick Johnson and Nathan Bigelow are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. They can be seen walking around campus talking to students to gauge their interests. Bigelow said their job is to “invite people to come to Christ” and see how he can help.
“We go around and teach and talk and invite people into the church to come and look around,” Bigelow said.
Johnson said he tries to find common ground with the people he chats with and invites them over.
“We’re trying to build that unity, and that’s what Christ would do – invite them into the church, keep looking around if they’re interested – and if not, great, then we just build a good conversation with them,” Johnson said.
Johnson said they come to VCU because so many people come through.
“30,000 students stream through a central location every hour. What more could you want when you’re trying to talk to everyone? This is pretty much the golden egg,” Johnson said.
One of the preachers is Neil Collins. He and Ron Walsh, another preacher, take turns holding a sign that reads “Will You Go to Heaven? Free Trial” and preaching sermons to passersby.
Both men are VCU graduates and belong to Grace Bible Church, a nondenominational church whose “primary purpose is to glorify God by proclaiming His saving gospel to every person,” according to its website, through fellowship and “bold evangelism within our community.”
Collins said he was not coming here to convert people, but to communicate what he believed to be the truth.
“We’re offering people this truth so they can decide for themselves,” Collins said. “Whether you believe it or not, we want to give you the information because that’s what we think education is.”
Collins said his goal is to be respectful, even when people disagree or boo him. He was at the epicenter of the “riot” last year, which he said began when a student booed and yelled at him, drawing a crowd.
“There was never any violence. The kids were singing and chanting. They’re not violent – they’re fine. Sometimes they boo us. We understand that, that’s part of it,” Collins said.
Collins admires VCU’s openness and respect for free speech, even among groups with which he disagrees, he said.
“We really appreciate them allowing us and all the other groups that come to campus to come to campus,” Collins said. “We don’t agree with them, but we’re at least glad they have the right to be here.”
Andrea Booher, a first-year Catholic chemistry student, said she respectfully declines invitations from missionaries to go to church.
“I have some friends who are Mormon and have to serve their mission, but I find it interesting how they implement their approach on the VCU campus,” Booher said.
James Hayes, an atheist and third-year political science and philosophy student, believes the university has a double standard when it comes to dealing with expressive activity: student protests are punished or ignored, while religious messages are “coddled”.
“What bothers me is that it feels like nothing is being done about what they’re doing, which can be very, very disturbing and very, very harassing. But there are numerous efforts that are going on that are targeting more benign elements of the pro-Palestinian mob,” Hayes said.
Hayes said some religious messengers use religion as a cover.
“I think there are many cases where people tend to hide behind their faith or religion. And that, by extension, allows them to get away with heinous things,” Hayes said.
Hayes tries to avoid contact with missionaries and people who distribute leaflets because he believes they are just wasting his time trying to get a response.
“I’m not a fan of being approached about things that I think they already know I’m not interested in, and they just want a reaction or attention or something like that,” Hayes said.
Ryan Sullivan, a fourth-year political science student who is non-religious, described an incident in which a heckler sang parody songs over a preacher’s loudspeakers.
“I thought it was great. I was at a fundraiser at the booth and then this guy decided to make my day,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said he believes many religious ambassadors already know that most students will not be persuaded and will only want to make “provocative statements.”
Olivia Pinkman, an Anglican and third-year art student, said she was not a fan of “street preaching.”
“It seems to be more of a scaremongering thing in some ways, and I don’t agree with that at all. I don’t think that’s what this religion is about in any way,” Pinkman said.
Pinkman said it was interesting that while megaphones were not allowed on Compass, religious messengers used them without consequences. Both the old room reservation and use policy and the new interim policy prohibit amplification beyond volume limits or beyond what can be heard indoors.
“And then people who get involved in other ways and don’t get involved as much are told they’re not allowed to,” Pinkman said.
Loren Vincent, a third-year Protestant health sciences student, said she found the loudspeaker sermons disruptive and not good for students’ religious awareness.
“It’s very distracting, and when people just sit around and hold audiences, they talk badly about it and put Christianity in a bad light,” Vincent said.
Michael Porter, VCU’s assistant vice president for public relations, said in an email that the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, which owns both sides of Cathedral Place, banned amplified sound on the adjacent sidewalks last spring.
“Cathedral staff have informed VCU that amplified noise and expressive activities are prohibited in this area of their grounds. They have asked VCU police to notify individuals violating the ban that they are trespassing and to take appropriate action,” Porter explained.
