Jan. 25, a Christian group of preachers began its quest to ― as Shawn Holes, a vocal preacher, said ― “Bring glory to God [through preaching].”

The group held up anti-abortion signs depicting an aborted fetuses — some on the palm of a hand, others just on the poster. Holes said abortion was not the main focus of their preaching, but it was one of the topics the group would be discussing. The group also had other signs that read “REPENT” and “You must be born again.” Some students passed by the Union and stared while others stopped and argued for their beliefs.

One student, Robert Duffney, said the preachers were yelling at the crowd.

“When the crowd gets large, we yell to the herd,” Holes said. “This is something that you can’t hold in.”

One student voiced his opinion by dressing up as Jesus in short shorts and a cropped T-shirt. Sarah Snelling, a sophomore history major, said she had a more humorous approach to the preaching.

“I thought it was entertaining, but it could be really offensive to a lot of people,” Snelling said.

Other students said they felt more affronted by Holes and his associates.

“I didn’t feel anything but judgment coming from him [Holes],” said Julya Walters-Koalska, a freshman English major.

Holes said, “They [the students] get offended, they don’t like to be told they are wrong.”

Some students took action against Holes by creating a petition to revoke the group’s permit.

“They said that they wanted to permanently remove him from campus because he was … intolerance,” Snelling said.

Most students said they were of the same sentiment, but there were some who agreed with the preaching of the self-proclaimed “Shawn the Baptist.”

Greg, who wanted to keep his last name confidential, said he agreed with the preaching and thought it brought diversity to campus.

“I believe what they believe,” Greg said. “They are not here to change people; they are here to change their ways of thinking.”

The last day of the group’s three-day permit concluded with a smaller crowd and only one preacher. The preacher, one of Holes’ associates, started talking to the students one-on-one instead of yelling.

“My passion is to go into places where people wouldn’t normally know the gospel.” Holes said. “I want the young people to understand.”