'Hazing' Mall preachers a senseless and undignified way to spend time

A basic question arises when we students allow ourselves to be antagonized by the resident Mall preachers: Why are we listening? If we find what the person is saying to be unreasonable or ridiculous, why would some 100 plus students gather around one preacher, as was the case this Monday (Feb.10). As I came out of class that afternoon, I noticed a huge, circular group taunting and yelling into the center. When I asked a bystander what was going on, he told me the mob was hazing the newest Mall preacher. The scene was embarrassing. Not only was it embarrassing, it was useless. What a moot point to debate Christianity with someone so moved by it they are willing to shout it out to a campus of uninterested students.

The worst part about indulging in habitual preacher teasing is that you become a groupie. It becomes Yoshua and his side-kick hecklers. And you look just as silly as them doing it. Do your dignity a favor and ignore it, and remember how great it is to live in a society where everyone can speak freely.

By Laura McKaughan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
February 13, 1997