Here at Tennessee Tech, we have a tradition that I really wish we didn't. Every year, right after midterms, our proud university lets four radical preachers onto campus to yell and scream at us. Not only are we stressed from our tests but now we have to listen to all these ridiculous reasons as to why we're going to hell. They spread hatred and bigotry using God's word as their weapons. They quote scripture that preaches love and they twist it to sound hateful. This year, I was labeled a lesbian because I was wearing pants and my hair was dyed. I also love Ellen so that makes it even worse.

I got called a homo hugger because I was standing in a group of people from the university's GSA. I would have been labeled a whore if I was in shorts or leggings. They preach eternal damnation, while they stand with their noses in the air and a holier than thou attitude. I got picked out of a crowd because I have my tongue pierced and when I tried to stand up for myself, I got scoffed at. They come every year to yell at us for five hours a day, two days in a row.

This year, a beautiful thing happened the night of their first day on campus. A diverse group of students gathered on South Patio to shower it in love and acceptance. We met up and with chalk in hand, covered the patio with Bible quotes about love and acceptance. We were there late into the night and it was a wonderful experience.

The next morning, the preachers came back and immediately took credit. They claimed that they broke through to us and they were so proud of us. They exclaimed that it was "fantastic" and that they were so happy to have made a difference. They began to take pictures of the scripture. They took pictures of me and my roommate sitting beside a quote about false prophets.

They proceeded to stand on those Bible verses and scream about how even though the verses were about love that they still meant we were going to hell. They talked about a glass floor in Heaven that they would stand on and wave to all of us from Tennessee Tech as we were burning in Hell.

They are nothing more than con artists. They have no other purpose other than to piss us off to the point that someone hits them. That means that they can sue the school.

I made some great friends during this awful display of "faith". I posed with a Bisexual Pride Flag. I got called a Lesbian, Homo-Hugger, non-believer, devil worshiper, and a whore. The beautiful thing is, their words have no hold on me. I believe how I believe. I will love who I choose to love. You cannot fight hate with more hate. So we fought with love, and got made fun of for it.