Sister Cindy’s preaching at USF shows free speech is alive and well

While Sister Cindy may be preaching questionable things, she is a sign that free speech is thriving on USF’s campus. ORACLE PHOTO/DYLAN SABOL

If you were on the USF Tampa campus on Thursday, you may have noticed a large crowd gathered in front of Cooper Hall.

A majority were anticipating the arrival of Cindy Smock, known on social media as “Sister Cindy”.

Smock is a Christian evangelist preacher who travels across the country preaching her beliefs on her “Ho No Mo” Revolution tour.

This is the fourth year in a row that Smock has returned to USF to spread her message of celibacy.

Despite mixed reactions from more than 100 students in attendance, her presence is a sign that free speech is alive and well in Florida.

While Smock preaches messages some would characterize as prejudiced and extreme, the soundtrack of laughter and whispered jokes makes her message feel like a joke.

Many students look on at Smock with an eagerness akin to watching a car crash in real time.

Ethan Rivera, a freshman nursing major, said he decided to hang around Cooper Hall during lunchtime to see if Smock was “truly” going to preach.

Still, Rivera encountered a woman who was able to get college students to eagerly volunteer to read the Bible in hopes of getting a coveted “Ho No Mo” button.

“I feel like people are only going there for entertainment and for laughs and humor, but I don’t think they’re really going to listen,” Rivera said.

Smock, who was scheduled to start preaching at noon, arrived at USF over 30 minutes late — attributing the delay to a lack of parking and her feeling sick.

She then spent a few minutes degrading women’s studies and psychology majors, questioning their purpose and relevance.

Smock also said students in those fields would end up working at McDonald’s.

And as wild as these statements may seem in a school that offers bachelor’s degrees in both women’s, gender, and sexuality studies and psychology, Smock’s statements are protected under Florida statutes.

Florida public universities must allow people the right to free speech under the First Amendment, according to statute 1004.097.

USF also doubles down on that idea by providing guidelines for the use of public spaces in USF Policy 6-028.

The policy states that USF’s purpose and intent is to provide public spaces for people to freely express ideas — “including ideas that some members of the USF community may find objectionable or even offensive.”

Freedom of speech is a crucial part of democracy, but, more importantly, it helps support a public campus where ideas can be exchanged.

But this freedom of speech goes both ways.

While Smock spoke about the “fires of hell” and the perils of drinking and smoking, students responded with laughter and humor — showing the complexity of how public forums work.

Students have many options when it comes to responding to a figure like Smock, such as cheering her on, attempting to start a debate or talking to other bystanders about the flaws in her preaching.

But humor is often more effective than shutting a speaker down. It shows that the offensive speech holds little power, as people are no longer personally attacked and instead treat it as comedy.

Smock being allowed to return to USF and speak under her right to free speech shows Florida’s statutes are working.

The students who continue to show up ready to laugh and undermine her preaching show that free speech is thriving.

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