For at least 30 years, a preacher has stood in the same place in front of the Willard Building, shouting Christian messages to entering and exiting students.
The constant presence of a Willard preacher represents the exchange of ideas that can happen at a large and secular university like Penn State.
But the Willard preachers can be poor representations of healthy debate and of Christian beliefs, as a confrontational and tense debate last Friday clearly showed.
Members of the Atheists and Agnostic Society confronted former, but recently returned, Willard Preacher Clarence "Bro" Cope last Friday while they were dressed in imitating suspenders. The exchange ended with Cope making a threatening remark about being armed.
"If I am insane, you ought to seriously be concerned that I don't pull out my knife and slit your throat," Cope said.
Penn State Police said they investigated the incident and found no reason for charges. But regardless of police action, the exchange brings a sour note to healthy debate on the Willard steps.
The Bible is full of examples of men and women who proclaimed their beliefs by standing on street corners or in churches and preaching. Jesus himself gathered huge crowds as he preached.
But Jesus spoke a message of love that was difficult to hear. But it seems to be getting lost in the angry confrontations that occur on the steps.
A university is a place for the exchange of ideas. Forty thousand students are going to have 40,000 different ideas about life, morals and religion. Hopefully, differences can lead to debate so Penn State students can learn from one another.
Healthy debate -- exchange that involves respect from both sides -- is an important aspect of being a student. And not all debate and education happens inside the classroom.
But when debates involve shouting matches and thinly veiled threats, are listeners impacted in any way?
The First Amendment gives anyone the right to speak about his or her beliefs. I applaud anyone who has the courage to be exposed in a personal way by discussing personal beliefs in a public setting.
But the style of exchange that can occur at the Willard Building worries me. I want to tell anyone who has ever had questions about Christianity to find another forum for information. The Willard preachers do not represent every Christian.
Jesus' message is about relationships, ones that are personal and respectful. Jesus was also not put off by people walking away from his message if they disagreed with Him. He spoke about repentance in love.
How can anyone believe a message of love through an angry debate?
A personal discussion with a Christian is more representative of Jesus than yelling back and forth. The Willard preachers contribute to the exchange of ideas by standing day after day on the steps. But I don't want the message of Christ to become lost in the angry confrontations that seem to result from the preachers' style of evangelism.
My parents remember Cope standing on the same steps when they were Penn State students. Current Willard Preacher Gary Cattell has been preaching since 1997. Cattell became interested in the profession of preaching after seeing Cope and another preacher hit with a pie by opponents while speaking at Willard in 1979.
So after decades of shouting at passing students, is this style of debate helping anyone?
Jessica Turnbull is a senior majoring in journalism and is The Daily Collegian's Friday columnist. Her e-mail address is jlt5044@psu.edu.
