Clash in the Park Blocks

    An eight-year-old child stood in the Park Blocks yesterday with a sign quoting religious texts hanging from his shoulders, handing out Christian tracts to any student that would take one.

    Hundreds of irate Portland State students gathered around the child and a group of five adults from Bible Believers U.S.A., yelling explicit language in response to derogatory comments from members of the group. The Christian evangelical group called students and community members “homos" and “faggots" and told them they were going to hell.

    The group of five evangelical Christians – a larger group than typically preaches at one time – began speaking atop the Park Blocks stage just outside Smith Memorial Student Union in the early afternoon, bearing signs that quoted biblical texts and one that read “Jesus or Hell" in bold letters.

    Lieutenant of Campus Safety Craig L. Whitten said that Campus Safety could not remove the group from campus because they were in a city of Portland-run park.

    Myron Kingsbury, a PSU student and the student radio station’s manager, said that he was distracted by the noise he could hear the group making from his classroom in Neuberger Hall. He filed a complaint with Campus Safety, but Whitten said that the noise was not too loud and that sound complaints are a city of Portland issue.

    ”As long as they don’t have amplified sounds," Whitten said, “this is a public area."

    Whitten said that if there had been something scheduled for the stage in the Park Blocks, the group could have been moved, but not outside of the PSU Park Blocks. No one was scheduled to use the stage any time yesterday, according to campus scheduling.

    Kingsbury said the Oregon Constitution protects “hate speech," but the Oregon Revised Statues do consider abusive words or gestures harassment if they are used in a manner that is intended and likely to provoke a violent response.

    After two incidents were reported, three Campus Safety officers, including Whitten, came and stayed at the scene. Whitten said he prefers having officers watch the event from far away, because he thinks that having officers stand out in the open draws attention to something. In this case, Whitten said the group did not need extra attention.

    ”If it started raining, the crowd would disappear and they would disappear too," Whitten said. “If no one was listening to them, it wouldn’t be an issue."

    Student body President Courtney Morse said she thinks that it is unfortunate that the PSU campus might feel like it is not safe for some students because of the derogatory comments. Morse said that as a queer-identified student, she is offended by these demonstrations and she plans to follow up with Campus Safety on changes they can implement to prevent similar situations from escalating like this one did.

    ”Personally, I’m very concerned with the hate speech that is allowed on campus," Morse said.

    Josh Gross, the editor-in-chief of the PSU alternative monthly publication The Rearguard, said his attempt at comedy turned violent. He said that around 12:30 p.m., he lowered his pants and made a lewd gesture toward one of the group members, Grant Mercy.

    Gross said Mercy shoved him, ripping the pocket of Gross’s shirt. Mercy said his only intention was to get Gross away from him in self-defense.

    The incident was reported to PSU public safety, and after an officer came and left the scene, the feud between the students and the evangelical Christian group continued.

    Nearly two hours later, Mercy was accused of pushing another individual. A group of students formed a circle around Mercy to the right of the Park Blocks stage, some of them locking arms.

    Mercy said he was trying to get out of the circle when Martin Evans, a sophomore at PSU, was pushed in the chest. Evans and other students who were nearby said Mercy targeted Evans and pushed him in the chest to get out of the circle.

    ”He pushed me, he didn’t push anyone else," Evans said, adding that he had his arm locked with another student’s, but that there were other open areas in the circle that Mercy could leave through. “I wasn’t going to stop him from leaving."

    Evans and numerous other students called Campus Safety to the scene as tensions began to escalate. While Evans reported his account of the encounter to Campus Safety a half-hour after the incident, a small group of students shouted personal accounts of degrading statements that the evangelical Christian group had said to them.

    One female student of Jewish heritage said the group made numerous anti-Semitic remarks to her. Another male student said that if he had been pushed by Mercy, he might have begun to fight.

    Whitten said that because neither Gross, Evans nor any other student filed charges against Mercy or any other member, Campus Safety could not remove them from PSU.

    Ian, the child’s father and a group member, said that many of the students had been instigating the feud between the group and the students. He said that students had been being intolerant of their views, hitting the group member holding the largest sign, and ramming signs into him.

    Ian, whose son is home-schooled, said that the group preach in their free time and pay for everything, like the religious tracts, out of pocket.

    Rumors spread that the group had been on campus before and had been found to have concealed weapons. Ian said that it was an unrelated evangelist, now deceased, who had come to campus with a concealed knife.

    Students held signs in front of and around the Christian evangelical group. The signs read, “They can’t stand when you steal their seat," “This is not how Christ intended Christianity" and “Gay sex is hot."

    The group and the crowd were dispersed from the Park Blocks by 4:30 p.m.