Dean of Students and Ombuds respond to preachers and protesters on the Green
October 10, 2019
For the second week in a row now, students protested preachers on the Green. This time, it got the attention of the Dean of Students and the Ombuds.
Dr. Andrea Adams-Manning, Dean of Students, along with Thomas Van Schoor, Assistant Dean of Students and Student Ombuds, both made an appearance on the Green around 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 9 after the student protesters allegedly played music loudly over the preachers.
The Dean of Students assist students from their first day to graduation on a variety of issues. Similarly, the Ombuds assists students with questions and concerns, ensuring students are successful in their academics.
Allegedly, Dr. Adams-Manning and Van Schoor informed students of the preachers First Amendment right to preach on the Green and let students know that UPD has limited options for handling the preachers. To the group preaching, Dr. Adams-Manning and Van Schoor let them know there are claims that the group has been harassing students and that UNF is a campus focused on the mental well-being of students.
The preachers, who are known as Untamed Truth on YouTube, deny any allegations that they have harassed students.
“No matter what happens, no matter how many lines these guys crossed, there hasn’t been any repercussions for them,” said UNF Freshman Kylie Severine, who was present at the time of the Dr. Adams-Manning’s visit to the site.
Severine admitted she was glad the Dean of Students was present and acknowledging the situation. She believes it is a step forward for the University when facing this issue.
A member of Untamed Truth, who asked to only be identified as Ty, gave his version of events.
“What happened was, we began to preach on the Green, as we normally do. We’ve been here for about two years, just preaching and just telling people the gospel of Jesus Christ, and a lot of kids came by with pride parade flags and different things. They had amplified sound and were playing very inappropriate songs and we just kept preaching,” he said.
When asked how he felt about the Dean of Students and Ombuds’ visit to the Green, Ty said he didn’t mind that they made an appearance.
The Dean of Students and Ombuds declined to comment at the time of the incident.
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Jennifer • Oct 10, 2019 at 7:19 pm
Back when I was a freshman, the campus was in uproar getting the rights of Everyone to be diversely on campus and able to speak their minds. Womans health and the LGBTQ community were really happy when this got approved. This is the first amendment we all fought for. We fought for their right as well as our own. Be respectful to everyone. Even if you don’t agree with them.