For the penultimate stop in the Southern California leg of her Spring 2026 “Ho No Mo” tour, controversial campus preacher Cindy Smock held a “Hoeology 101” sermon this past Thursday in front of the Humanities Building.
Attendance of the sermon, which began at 11:30 a.m., fluctuated between 50 to 100 students across the four-hour duration. Listeners’ reactions varied, with cheers ringing throughout the quad and occasional heckling.
Smock, known by her alias Sister Cindy, calls herself the “leader of the Ho No Mo revolution.”
“Students love that saying not just because it’s cute and catchy, but it offers hope,” Smock said. “I asked out here, ‘Who would like to start all over?’ and a number of them raised their hands.”
Smock’s sermon cautioned university students against premarital sex, as well as what she calls being a “spiritual ho,” or participation in worship outside of Christianity.
Other topics touched upon during her visit to Cal State Fullerton included her belief that margaritas lead to sexual impropriety, her self-described immoral past before her conversion to Christianity and advice for young people involved with “vampire hoes” — “drop and block!”
Smock was joined by William Landerholm, also known as Pastor Bill, a technical writer, pastor and Smock’s longtime associate, who spoke on the parable of the Prodigal Son.
“It’s kind of a show, it’s very entertaining,” Landerholm said. “But at the end of the day, she gets down to the serious business of what’s really important in life.”
Videos of Smock’s antics and soundbite-worthy remarks have garnered her a viral online presence, which includes 41,800 followers on Instagram and ten times as many followers on TikTok.
Student reactions to the sermon ranged, running the gamut from sympathetic consideration to critical consideration and distrust.
Aidan Hamm, a second-year philosophy and psychology double major, passed by the crowd and stuck around. Prior to the event, he had not heard of Sister Cindy, but he reports trying to keep tabs on what campus speakers promote.
“I would just encourage people to think for themselves and to really critically engage with any scripture they come across,” Hamm said. “I don’t believe in using things like the Bible to bash other people or to weaponize verses in order to coerce people into joining your religion.”
Jullie Carranco, a first-year transfer English major, originally came to see Sister Cindy as a spectacle, but stayed to understand where the preacher was coming from.
“I think that having a sex life as a man or a woman, being queer is completely your prerogative and that doesn’t make you a sinner or a whore,” Carranco said. “If they really are making so much effort to go talk to people, people deserve to be heard, even if you don’t really agree with them.”
Alex Grandstaff, a first-year jazz major, heard of the event on social media but didn’t know much about Sister Cindy’s activities and wanted to hear what Smock had to say.
“I don’t think anything of what she’s saying is incorrect or harmful. I think lustful tendencies are damaging to a person in a physical, mental, spiritual sense,” Grandstaff said. “She has captivated this audience – whether that’s in a satirical way or not can be up for debate.”
Smock’s itinerary was organized by her alone, though she is supported by her campus ministry board and local friends. For the final stop of her tour, she plans to visit UC Irvine on Monday, April 28.
Students can expect to see her on CSUF’s campus again next year.