VOL . 102, NO. 25
T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E X A S AT E L PA S O
aprIL 3, 2018
should the “preacher guy” have a voice on campus?
see what students have to say on Pg. 6
gaby velasquez/ The ProsPecTor ryan denton, also known as “Preacher guy,” holds his bible at centennial Plaza in his routine spot. The 32-year-old is a non-degree seeking student at uTeP.
By daniel mendez The Prospector Four years ago, Centennial Plaza was still under construction as bulldozers, construction workers and fences overpowered the center of campus. After its completion it became a spot for Frisbee throwers, graduation photo shoots and getting some peace and quiet in between classes. However, for more than a year, in the center of the plaza, there is a good chance while walking from class to class, students will hear a man yelling about abortion, loudly attacking students who he deems are sinners and denounces other religions and faiths other than his own. Occasionally, he carries a sign that reads “abortion is murder.” Students on campus refer to the student standing in the front of Centennial Plaza as “preacher guy.” “Preacher guy,” whose real name is Ryan Denton, preaches at least two to three times a week during the peak hours that students walk to and from class.
Denton claims he was once in the shoes of the students he is trying to save. He considers himself a missionary evangelist and said his denomination of Christianity is Calvinist Baptist—one of the most conservative types of Baptists. The former pastor believes in the Puritan values of “doing everything according to scripture and the commitment to a life of holiness.” After what he describes as a downward spiral of profanity, promiscuity, whiskey, marijuana and trouble with law enforcement, Denton said he had a spiritual awakening when he was 22 years old after his friend passed away. “I became under deep conviction of sin and realized that God is good,” Denton said. This was not the first time someone in Denton’s life had died, but for some reason this death was different. Now 32, he has been spreading his version of the word of God throughout college campuses and public places across the country for 10 years. “I’ve been preaching on campuses before I came to UTEP for a few years,” said
Denton, a non-degree seeking student. “I have no doubt the Lord called me to preach. Outdoors in the pulpits, it’s really wherever he’s calling me to preach. I think what I’m doing here is definitely a calling of God.” Denton’s preaching is often countered by students with everything—from a student dressed as a chicken squawking over his voice, students reading Dr. Seuss books out loud to drown him out and some students have even silently held signs next to him as he preaches that read “false prophet.” Although some may not appreciate what Denton is doing, the Student Government Association (SGA) planned to host a forum discussing religion and science, which was scheduled for March 28. The event, “How the two can coexist: religion and science,” was meant to be an open discussion between Denton and a senior biology major named Sangeeta Kurada. Kurada was first approached by SGA the Wednesday before the announcement of the forum. The 19-year-old was going to serve as a member of the panel. Kurada
said she received backlash for wanting to participate in the event through social media from her College of Science peers. The backlash was along the lines of, “how do you possibly want to put yourself in that crossfire,” given the person she is going to be arguing with. Despite the cancelation, Kurada said she pushed for the event to happen. She felt it was necessary to have this type of conversation in order to see both sides of the argument and develop somewhat of a compromise. Kurada also said she respects what Denton is doing and realizes how much guts that takes for one to be doing what he does, but she does not support his rhetoric. She has witnessed when students present their arguments to Denton, as he calls them names or belittles them for the color of their skin. That was one of the reasons she insisted on the forum happening. Instead of a hostile situation in Centennial Plaza, she felt it could have been a situation where both sides kept their cool and presented their differences.
“There were a lot of things that maybe I disagreed with. Not necessarily only the message that he was saying, but the way it was being delivered,” Kurada said. “For me, I really believe that a lot of rationale and good attention to knowledge is needed from someone who can keep their cool and hear both sides of the situation.” SGA originally invited all 13 faithbased organizations on campus to participate. More than half declined to participate, but some chose to send a representative to the forum with the hopes of creating an opportunity to present their beliefs to Denton, who has been denouncing other forms of faith publicly on campus. The forum was canceled within hours of the announcement. SGA had received multiple messages from students and parents of students on campus, who were concerned with providing Denton with a platform to spread his message. SGA’s representatives said the messages mostly consisted of people
see preacher on page 3