Opinion: CWRU needs to improve its women’s health services (pg. 10)
The Case Western Reserve
Observer
Friday, April 14, 2023 Volume LIV, Issue 25 Est. 1969
NEWS
“Euclid Preachers” draw counter-campaign of positivity from CWRU students Shreyas Banerjee Executive Editor If you’ve walked through the campus of Case Western Reserve University over the past few weeks, odds are you’ve been told a few choice things by someone dubbed the “Euclid Preacher” by students. For example, that you’re going to hell, that you’re going to burn in a lake of fire or that God will crush you and send you to your damnation. All of these provocative statements have been hurled at CWRU students as they walk past the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Adelbert Road by a group of open-air preachers occupying the area. Armed with a sign that proclaims “WARNING: Drunkards, Pot Smokers, Homoseuxals, Fornicators, Liars, Thieves, Immodest Women, Atheists, ‘Coexist’ Idolaters, Porn Watchers, JUDGEMENT DAY IS COMING FOR YOU!!” and yelling through a microphone and attached boombox, these street preachers have been making their controversial views widely known while verbally attacking CWRU students for their perceived immorality. In their crusade to spread their extreme views, they’ve been making the case that unless CWRU students accept Jesus into their hearts they will drown in pools of blood, become desolate and ultimately be judged as wicked, condemned to eternal torment. In an interview with one of the Eu-
The Euclid preachers’ (bottom right) approach to spreading Gospel has stirred campus-wide discussion about faith and bigotry and the rise of counter-compaigns (above) wanting to overcome the atmosphere of negativity. Shreyas Banerjee/The Observer clid preachers, who would only reveal his name to be Omar, he admitted that he’s gotten “mostly negative reception” at CWRU, but he’s not bothered by it because “Jesus got a very negative reception.” “College campuses have a very small percentage of Christians on this college campus compared to the general population. So it’s a great place to preach the Gospel, because not as many people are saved.” When asked what students were taking the most offense to, he replied that women didn’t seem to like it when he said “they have to submit to their husbands
… and the female role is subordinate to the male role.” Though he says he himself is married, his wife apparently “loves” his views on marital roles because “she loves the righteousness of God.” Omar also believes that college education is sinful and that we should instead learn from Jesus, that gay and mentally ill people are possessed by the devil, that children are the father’s possessions and that he would have sex with kids—including his own—and that slavery is morally permissible. “I get my moral standards from God, rather than making up what I think is right and wrong … I take God’s word as it’s plainly written,” he said. While he doesn’t support the form of slavery that historically occurred in the United States, Omar explained, “there is
a form of slavery that’s not so vicious,
that’s not so evil that the Bible never endorses, but it doesn’t explicitly prohibit it.” Continue reading on page 3
EDITORIAL
Candidate endorsements for the 2023 USG elections Editorial Board The time has come for students at Case Western Reserve University to vote. While most here are primarily concerned with academics, our life as students goes beyond our classes. Much of our experience while at this university is dictated by amenities such as the number of events available to go to each weekend, club meetings, dining hall options, the availability of SafeRides and much more. These are all things our Undergraduate Student Government (USG) has a hand in. USG also works as a link between our student body and the CWRU administration, bringing our concerns about tuition costs, overpopulation, diversity, disability resources, housing and food options to the forefront. While they cannot directly control these things, USG is meant to ensure
that administrators remain aware of the problems the student body faces. Our own peers work throughout the academic year to advocate for the student body and make our time here on campus the best it can be. This makes it vitally important that the right students, dedicated to service, become leaders within USG. Students have the ability to vote for USG candidates between April 14-15 at vote.case.edu. To help CWRU students make an informed decision, The Observer traditionally hosts a debate between candidates and endorses the ones we believe would be the best fits for their jobs. This practice was put on pause during the pandemic; however, there was non-interest last year, and ultimately, these debates were more or less Q&A sessions. Therefore, USG and The Observer jointly decided to transition the debate to one-on-one interviews. This change allowed for
each candidate to more thoroughly explain their platform with more nuance. To ensure that these conversations are still publicly available, video recordings of all the interviews will be available on our YouTube channel. These interviews helped inform our endorsements, which were made after a vote by our Editorial Board. While we commend all candidates for stepping up and running for student leadership positions, we believe that the following candidates will be the best fits in their positions.
Vote Basil Yaseen for President The president of USG is the most influential position within the CWRU student body, guiding the overall direction of our student government and acting as the main point of correspondence between the student body and CWRU administration, including President Kaler. For such a vitally important position, we are
confidently endorsing third-year Basil Yaseen, the current Vice President of Finance. Continue reading on page 9