Today we visited the much anticipated Baylor University.  Two years ago when Soulforce visited the campus they chalked in front of the chapel and were asked to stop. All but five Riders and one student stopped at which point the ones that continued were arrested on trespassing charges.  Yes, I said “chalked” which is the same as writing on sidewalk and streets with chalk.  When they were taken to jail they were cavity searched, kept overnight before pretrial even though they were arrested mid-day, and a Trans Rider was mistreated he was placed in a female cell.  All this, may I repeat, for chalking on sidewalk.

Mia and Jaxon, the Stop Planners for the school, coordinated a different approach this year and negotiated with administrator’s permission on campus to speak to students, faculty, and staff.   (more…)

Alabama was amazing. It is truly my favorite stop so far.  It went smoothly; well, smoother than we all thought it would go.  The trouble was that Oakwood University sent an e-mail to all their students that not only let their students know we were coming, but told them that if they felt ‘unsafe’ to call Campus Police and also that we were ‘trained very well and any form of debate would be fruitless and unsuccessful’.  It really sounded as if they painted us as a militant group looking to cause trouble.  Well, it scared us because the last thing we wanted was students thinking we were out to push any sort of agenda at all costs.

(more…)