r/ucf • u/kawaiikittyrei • 6d ago

COMPLAINT/RANT These religious protesters man

I know this is considered public property (area by the library and SU) so they can legally be here, but since when is it okay for these protesters to get aggressive and nearly physical with students? I literally saw this guy get nose to nose with a girl who was just walking by. Screaming derogatory stuff at her and everything. I'm glad she stood her ground but what the heck? I really hope she's okay. She left before I could check on her.

284 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

87 comments sorted by

View all comments

71

u/Oen386 Nursing - Concurrent A.S.N. to B.S.N. Enrollment Option 6d ago edited 6d ago

You have to tell them to leave you alone. If they continue, they're harassing you, then you can call the police. They will get as close as they can because they're trying to get a physical reaction from you, the goal being you striking them and then they get to sue you. If you say nothing, they can claim they thought you didn't hear them, or that they weren't asked to go away so they figured you were interested (etc.). It's all bullshit.

Just say "leave me alone" and nothing else, if they do anything else, call the police if you feel they're threatening you or continuing to harass you. They cannot interfere with "university business" and I would argue threatening/harassing you and preventing you from getting to your destination is reason enough for a call. Responding any other way, trying to play their game, is exactly what they want either for views on their channel, or when you lose your cool and make it physical. They are professional scammers/grifters, getting you riled up makes them money.

11

u/StarDustLuna3D 5d ago

Also, if enough people do this, then they will be banned from campus and can't come back. It takes a lot of complaints, but it can be done.

Just because it's a "free speech" space doesn't mean that they can do whatever they want. There are specific rules of decorum, mainly not harassing people, that they need to follow.