To say that the campaign at the University of Delaware on Monday, March 29 was exciting would be an understatement. It wasn’t only exciting; it was one of TFP Student Action‘s best campaigns since we started opposing the homosexual agenda on college campuses.
As we headed toward the campus, I looked in the rear view mirror of the 15-passenger van and saw nine members of TFP Student Action. Expectations were high and they were ready for a full day of campaign. Although some confessed they had “butterflies in the stomach,” they were determined to overcome the “butterflies.” And they did.
After the classic opening prayer of the campaign, the very first flier I gave out sparked a heated 20-minute debate with a homosexual activist. At the end, he began screaming, “Read the Bible.
God is love. God is love.” It just so happened a Protestant preacher was a few yards away listening and when he heard the activist chanting “hate,” he came to my defense and loudly said, “Stop judging him. Stop judging him.”
About 20 minutes into the campaign, a student enthusiastically said, “It’s so good to see you out here. When I saw you and your banners, I realized there is still something good left in the world.”
One student approached TFP volunteer Cesar Franco and said: “It’s about time you came here. Finally there’s some balance to the issue. So far, the only ones out here have been the homosexuals.”
One lady walked up to TFP volunteer James Bascom saying: “I have a flier already, but I would like to ask for several more. You have a very noble cause.”
A friendly student approached the campaign and said: “My friend told me you were out here. What you’re doing is awesome.” We asked him if he wanted a TFP flier and he replied: “I already have one. I picked it up off the street.”
I was rather surprised this student was able to find a WHOLE, intact TFP flier on the sidewalk because the homosexual activists spread the word to tear up our fliers and throw them on the sidewalk in front of the TFP standard. In fact, a number of people had done this and shreds of paper were blowing in the wind. Usually you could tell when a pro-homosexual student was about to rip up our flier. Many times they would hesitate and delay, trying to muster the courage to approach the regal TFP banner.
At a distance, there was a group of homosexual activists encouraging their sympathizers to rip up the flier. When this happened, we would say in a clear voice — for everyone to hear — “it’s illegal to litter, don’t litter.” It worked, but only for a while. Then they started ripping up the flier and throwing the pieces into our flier box. At the end of the campaign we had a box full of shredded paper…the evidence of tolerance!
The opposition was noticeable. Every time I looked at the street corners, I saw at least one TFP Student Action member debating. But the campaign developed with so much elan and the help of grace that the homosexual activists were unable to hinder its impact.
We heard the homosexual activists on their cell phones for hours frantically asking the university to kick us off campus. They called their friends for help. They called the police.
Finally, a policeman with an Irish last name did show up. He respectfully showed us what side of the sidewalk was public. We moved a few feet over and the policeman was satisfied with our peaceful and legal behavior. The homosexual activists became even more upset. “Arrest them.
You should arrest them. They can’t give out fliers. Stop them from giving out fliers. They’re forcing people to take their fliers.” He shrugged his shoulders and came over and asked us to ONLY give out fliers to people who asked for them. I told him that we had the constitutional right to do what we were doing, and that we would continue offering our fliers to everyone since we weren’t forcing anyone to take the flier. Much to the activists’ chagrin, he saw no problem.
At the end of the day, ten percent of the student body at the University of Delaware had a copy of the TFP’s flier.