Occasionally, students walking to class in Oelman, Millett, or Fawcett Halls may notice quite a commotion coming from the quad that connects these three buildings. Sometimes, it appears that there is a fight about to break out, as a man and another person shout in one another’s face while a group circles around them.
While some students admittedly try to avoid him, others step closer to hear what he has to say. Most agree that he takes things too far, and some express that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about as well as he thinks he does. However, as one student said, “He’s making people aware of the Bible.”
Students Amaris Snowden, Billy Barabino, Jequan Curry, and Angela Norton were more than willing to share their opinions of the Quad God. All four are Christian and expressed their opinion that, while he is sharing what he thinks is right, he is missing the bigger picture. They cited his concentration on the rules and regulations, his disruptiveness, and his tendency to talk at (not with) bystanders as large negatives about his movement. However, they stated that they cannot judge him, as, while he might be searching for attention, he is sharing the word of God in a way that he thinks he should.
“It’s easy to lose the idea of what a Christian is, because people on the forefront aren’t representative of what Christianity really is,” said Amaris Snowden. “Jesus wasn’t judgmental. He was about love and kindness.”
Other students take offense to the Quad God’s words. “I think that it is uncomfortable,” said one student. “I am Muslim, and his shouting in the quad about the Bible is very awkward when I am trying to go to class.”
“At my old school, I never saw anything like this,” said Devin Houston, a psychology graduate student. Indeed, the idea of a ‘Quad God’ is not very widespread in other universities. A simple Google search of ‘Quad God’ immediately brings up a YouTube video of one Wright State student challenging the Quad God.
Whether or not students are gathering around the Quad God to listen to his words or for the entertainment of his flamboyancy, it is important to remember that he is speaking about something that is both sensitive and private. It is public property, and he is welcome to spread his word, but students should be thoughtful, and use their own judgments before accepting his words or stepping up to confront him.
For insight into some differing opinions, see these opinion pieces: Opinion Piece 1 and Opinion Piece 2
