Last Tuesday, an Instagram influencer by the name of Sister Cindy parked herself on Fairfield Way just outside the library and proudly began to preach about chastity. “HONOMO” is her slogan, and it means exactly what you think: No more hos, college students or otherwise. Employing three other “former hos” and a guitar, she sang an arrangement of remixed melodies warning against premarital sex and advising celibacy. By the end of her four-hour gathering, she’d cultivated a crowd of over a hundred students.
Likely, none of these students were there to support her. Campus preachers like Sister Cindy — influencers that loiter in populated areas of campus looking to preach or debate random controversial issues — attract students not because people support their dramatized, often absurd ideologies, but because people laugh at them. Objectively, Sister Cindy’s “HONOMO” slogan is hilarious, as are her anecdotes about the “ho chain” and brutal honesty regarding her intimacy with her late husband. She is a decent performer that knows how to work a crowd, if nothing else. Like a trainwreck, it’s hard to look away.
It’s important to remember, though, that Sister Cindy is serious. She really believes in “HONOMO” and purity culture. Other campus preachers that specialize in nonsensical political debate are serious about wanting same-sex marriage to be repealed. And regardless of whether you personally are taking them seriously, the effect is the same: They’re given a platform to continue spreading hate.
I’m not surprised people continue to show up to these “events.” They’re funny. You get to feel like a better person for not supporting whatever’s being preached and it’s a bonus that you get to personally ridicule the person preaching; It’s one big inside joke. Except, it’s not really “inside” at all — Sister Cindy knows that you don’t actually agree with “breaking the ho chain.” She knows you’re making fun of her. But she is appreciative of that negative attention because all press is good press for campus preachers. They gain notoriety from just your presence and this allows them to fund the rest of their “tours.” People find the concept of seeing a viral Instagram lolcow (someone, typically a content creator, whose behavior is mocked, despite them not trying to be funny) with their own eyes too enticing to pass up and the cycle repeats. Despite knowing their intention was to mock, I was irritated seeing so many people interact with Sister Cindy. These hundred students weren’t just listening and quietly disapproving — many were actively engaging with her: singing along to her remixes, reciting her teachings and “agreeing” with her about the dangers of promiscuity. The crowd would collectively gasp or groan when she said something ridiculous about the “ho chain”; there were people literally seated in front of her, eagerly answering questions in order to collect a “HONOMO” novelty pin. Meanwhile, next door (as in, across the road), the fraternity Beta Theta Pi was hosting a philanthropic event with NMPD, the National Marrow Donor Program, asking for donations to save children dying of blood cancer. I think they had an impossible time trying to draw people away from the “HONOMO” musical gathering.
People do the same with campus preachers who come to debate, jumping at the chance to get a clip of the debater being “owned,” even when the argument is irrational. In some ways, platforming these people can be beneficial; Attention is drawn to needed conversations and because a campus preacher is something of a laughingstock, people automatically disagree with them. Some will even go out of their way to research an issue just to prove them wrong. But what about the people who first learn a perspective through a campus preacher’s words and silently agree? What about the future campus preachers who see their success and follow in their footsteps?
Collectively, we need to stop interacting with these people. It’s hard, I know — they’re funny, and in a town as boring as Storrs, we need bizarre people to liven things up. But even mock support counts as real support for them; as their audience grows, they’re enabled to keep traveling around the country spreading hateful racist, homophobic, xenophobic, puritanical ideology. You may think they’re harmless, and no one in their right mind would listen to them, but they’re targeting college campuses for a reason: young people are impressionable.
So, in hopes of making an impression, I ask you to stop giving these people views. Even if you just show up and listen, you risk giving them a bigger platform than they deserve. Find an influencer worth your time. Sister Cindy isn’t a messiah — she’s just some bigoted older person.