PHOTO BY SAM ROTH | THE SIGNAL
Students say the protesters in Library Plaza are becoming more aggressive during their testimonials.
On Oct.9 a student was arrested for having an altercation with a religious picketer.
GSUPD police blotter reports the student became angry during a religious protest taking place on Courtland Street, resulting in a tear in the shirt of one of the organizers.
At the last Student Government Association (SGA) meeting on Oct. 16, Senator Justin Brightharp said he wanted to bring attention to the street preacher altercations and he’s noticed the situation has gotten angrier.
“They’re here because they know if they get touched they can sue the university and it’s not worth it,” he said.
Brightharp also said there is not a concrete method to avoid street preachers since they are allowed to be on campus.
“[Protesters] have [used] derogatory terms towards students. Unfortunately because our campus is open, they have a right to be here. So there are ways we have to go about it,” he said.
Freshman student Sydney Clark said they are going too far and things are getting unsafe.
“I used to only believe they were an unwanted obstacle standing in the way of me getting to class, but now I fear for my safety and situations will escalate,” she said.
Brightharp said other organizations such as the Secular Panthers are peacefully responding by giving students postcards with positive messages written on them.
Junior Krystina Leverett said she finds it very irritating to deal with protesters in the Plaza because they create more crowds and say distasteful comments.
“I am a Christian myself,” Leverett said. “However, I do not believe that is the right way to tell people about any religion. The protesting is only leading to violence and a misrepresentation of what Christianity stands for.”
Georgia State is a public university and is funded by public money through taxes, according to University administration. Since Georgia State is a public university, those who do not pay tuition still can use its facilities.
The broader university community has the right to assemble on public spaces surrounding Georgia State. This university community includes Georgia taxpayers as well as enrolled Georgia State students, according to city ordinances and university polices.
However, students and non-students need permission to assemble on university property.
Larger assemblies need permission from the city and smaller assemblies, picketers or street preachers, need permission from administration but are otherwise allowed to assemble in Library Plaza, according to Georgia State’s policy.
Student Amy Perez said she does not think the protesters should be able to picket in the Library Plaza even if the messages are religious.
“Just because you’re carrying a Bible doesn’t make it any less harassing [to students],” she said. “It scares us.”
A Georgia State adjunct law professor who wished to remain anonymous said that even though the picketers are within their legal rights to assemble, there are still restrictions that apply.
“In order to protect students, there are manner, time and place restrictions placed on the person exercising their 1st Amendment rights,” he said.
Courtland Street, where the altercation took place, is in the City of Atlanta’s jurisdiction and not considered Georgia State campus. This restricts University police from removing a disruptive picketer in some places between campus buildings, according to Smith.
“If it’s on campus property, the university has the authority to remove a person causing a ‘disruption’ to students,” he said. ” But it is important to remember that Georgia State is taxpayer funded and if [University Police] forcibly removes someone, they need to make sure that the person being removed was one, actually on campus, and two, actually causing an unsafe environment.”
Political Science senior Duncan McClellam said there’s a line between voicing your beliefs and words of violence and hatred. He also said that in speaking with other students, many feel the picketers’ message should not be protected indefinitely.
“Obviously there is always a line when it comes to constitutional rights, but I believe that line is crossed when inciting violence or hatred. In an environment that we pay for, we should feel secure,” he said.
