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Staff Writer
New and returning OCSA students pack 10th Street for the school ’ s first ever welcome week carnival . Beneath a hot but pleasant sun , junior Alex Padilla ( PD ) keeps the midday event going with a lively playlist . Staff members perch anxiously in a dunk tank , and students play games at conservatory booths . A tall white sign appears on OCSA ’ s horizon , just beyond the yellow gates on 10th and Main .
It reads , “ Repent , sexual sin , greed , Islam , + homosexuality leads to hell ! Be sober , don ’ t curse , smoke , gamble or lie , 4 u Jesus died ! Photograph this sign + share it . Jesus is God !”
Roussan Joshua Collins , the man behind the sign , interacts and takes pictures with a crowd that quickly grows to around 14 students , recording the interactions on his GoPro . Most students do not know they are being recorded , but he posts the video to his YouTube channel “ R . Joshua Collins ” later that night , August 26 .
As security guard Matt Clanton keeps a watchful eye in the background of the footage , some students interact with Collins , including junior AJ Knowles ( CM ), who described the man as “ cordial and … respectful .”
“ I don ’ t think his method was necessarily hateful , but I don ’ t think it was right and I don ’ t think he was acting out of love like he claimed to ,” said Knowles .
Freshman Dexter Mays ( CW ), who describes himself as “ kind of pathologically incapable of letting things go ”, also spoke to Collins .
“ Christianity is a very big part of my life … that ’ s why I really spoke to him about it , because I felt that that was such a perversion of what he was supposed to be doing ,” Mays said .
Junior Euni Lee ( CW ), president of OCSA ’ s Gender and Sexuality Alliance ( GSA ), said , “ There was a lot of discussion on [ GSA ’ s ] Facebook page about what we could do to fix this , but I feel like ... we just really focused on getting the video down because we didn ’ t want people who weren ’ t out to be affected by this .”
News October 2016
Street Preacher Unwelcome at Welcome Week ?
Justin Johnson
Dominic Roth Staff Writer
Over the past few years , there has been a controversy roiling the nation : boycotts of major corporations , various state laws , petitions and lawsuits .
The issue ? Gender-neutral bathrooms . But at OCSA , gender-neutral bathrooms for transgender and non-binary students are here .
Over the summer , one-stall gender neutral restrooms replaced one staff restroom on each floor of the Tower . To many , the issue of gender-neutral bathrooms must seem trivial . However , for many students at this school who identify as transgender or non-binary see the issue as one of comfort and safety .
“ Non-binary ” is a term used to describe a person who does not identify as male or female . Thus , gender-neutral bathrooms may be more comfortable for them to use , as they do not have to choose between one binary bathroom or another .
Senior Elliott Ector ( CW ), a non-binary student , explained , “ There are a lot of people who identify
Roussan Joshua Collins stands on the corner of 10th and Main with his handwritten sign Photo by Chris Dion
Collins ’ video gained more than 3,100 views before Collins blurred the faces of those on camera .
Lee said that Collins ’ blurring the faces was “ better than nothing .”
“ We are obviously deeply saddened by the man who came onto 10th Street . and decided that he wanted to show everyone the complete opposite
like myself , that feel like gender-neutral bathrooms would make them far more comfortable .” of what GSA wants to represent , which is love above everything else ,” said GSA in a statement .
Junior Yuri Bong ( CW ) said “ it was amazing to see OCSA ’ s Christian community take a stand for inclusivity , against LGBTQ discrimination , and against Islamophobia .” He added , “ As progressive as OCSA is , it harbors
We Just Need to Pee !
Many other OCSA students feel the same way , including non- LGBT students , as evidenced by the wildly successful petition for gender-neutral bathrooms put forward by the campus chapter of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance ( GSA ) over the summer .
However , the petition ended up being mostly irrelevant , because the OCSA administration was independently working on the project .
GSA Vice President , junior Megan Early ( CW ), said of the administration , “ They ’ re doing really well right now … we weren ’ t multitudes of viewpoints , some that run congruent to the street preacher ’ s .”
Some questioned the legality of Collins ’ actions . Michael Ciecek , dean of facilities and supervision , stated that after looking into the incident with “ both our law enforcement and our legal partners ,” Collins “ was not breaking any laws from where he was positioned because … there is not a reasonable expectation of privacy .”
He continued , “ Of course , when we did discover that he was videotaping , that ’ s when we stepped in even further … and called our police support in order to assist with removing him from the area .”
The video has become Collins ’ secondmost watched , with over 9,700 views at the time of printing .
The incident and the discussion that followed left people wondering “ why ?”
Collins answered , “ We as Christians are commanded to preach to all nations , in order that they might be saved ... the Bible says to raise your voice like a trumpet ( IS 58:1 ).”
How and Why Gender-Neutral Bathrooms Ended up in the Tower
Photo By : Ryan Porter aware that they were going to do that , and they did it without having to be contacted .”
Not all OCSA students have such have such a positive outlook on the issue . Junior Will Antici ( IM ) said the implementation of gender-neutral bathrooms seemed like pandering .
“ If you look at the statistics , transgenders make up a tiny percentage of the population . It ' s a massive overrepresentation ,” said Antici .
Despite the mild amount of resistance , one thing is for sure : the bathrooms are here .