A protester confronted transgender and Muslim students on NE Campus before being escorted to the parking lot by police on Oct. 7. 

The unidentified man stood outside of NSCE on top of a rock with a two-sided sign, urging students to repent and follow Jesus. 

The double-sided sign displayed the title “conversion therapy” with terms like “LGBTQ,” “Muslimite” and “sexual immorality,” with an arrow pointing to “sanity,” “delight” and “purity” and separated by the word “repent.” The reverse side included offensive language like “punches boobs” and “pedo” targeting the Prophet Muhammad. 

NE Muslim student Emadeldin Alias said he was concerned when he heard the protester’s loud disrespect toward Islam. 

“I told him I’m Muslim, and we think God is merciful. Even if you sin, you can enter heaven. You just have to take a step further, you know?” Alias said. “But then he started flipping my words. … And he started saying ‘Muhammad is a pedophile,’ and his mood totally changed. He was harassing me.” 

According TCC’s Title IX policy on the college’s website, the district prohibits hostile environment harassment, which includes acts of verbal, nonverbal or physical aggression, intimidation or hostility based on sex or gender. 

Vice Chancellor for Communications and External Affairs Reginald Gates said in an email that TCC is committed to maintaining an environment where students feel safe and supported. However, he said the college also supports the constitutional right to free expression, including that of visitors in outdoor designated campus areas. 

 “While speech — even if offensive — is generally protected, harassment or threats are not,” he said. 

Gates said the campus police officers “responded professionally and appropriately” when removing the protester. 

“When a visitor’s behavior creates a substantial disruption — especially when reported by multiple students or employees — the College may intervene in accordance with applicable law and policy,” Gates said. 

Transgender NE student Clementine Cook said she was approached by the protester, who insulted her gender and her looks. 

“He said, ‘Oh, you’re one of them transgenders. You have such a feminine woman body, but you have a such a deep, manly voice. It’s like a tuba,’” Cook said. 

According to Cook, the protester flipped his sign from the Islamophobic side to the anti-LGBTQ side when he confronted her. 

Another passerby, NE student Chris Hummel, said the protester didn’t bother him. He found it entertaining. 

“I don’t think it was right or wrong. I think he should be ignored if you don’t want to hear what he has to say,” he said. “I mean, is he any more right than anyone else? Everyone has the right to their own opinions.” 

However, Hummel said he didn’t agree when the protester started “calling people out.” 

“You shouldn’t interrupt somebody from what they’re doing because you have to tell them something that you don’t like about them,” he said. 

NE student Amy Powell, who was studying in front of the NSCE building, said it wasn’t until a student walked up to the protester and started talking that he got very loud.  

“He started raising his voice, and he even said something along the lines of, ‘I apologize for being loud,’ but then he just kept being loud the entire time,” she said. “So, it was like the kickoff to his sermon.” 

Powell decided to try to deescalate the situation because it was a disturbance to students. 

“I asked him politely. I was like, ‘Hey, there are people here trying to study,’ and he got combative after that,” she said. “He was like, … ‘don’t tell me what to do. I’m allowed to have free speech.’”  

Powell said she didn’t deem the campus area as an appropriate space for mean comments. 

“This is supposed to be a safe place for students, and that didn’t seem safe to me,” Powell said. “If you can’t walk across your campus without being basically attacked verbally, that’s not safe.” 

Cook said she had seen the protester at a recent Keller-Southlake Pride event at St. Martin Episcopal Church with a megaphone protesting LGBTQ individuals. 

“I think Keller was probably not his first rodeo, and this won’t be his last,” she said. “He already had the double-faced sign, and this is probably just like his hobby, going to different places and spouting off his hatred.” 

NE student Dallas Gartrell, who is bisexual and transgender, described the incident as absurd. 

“I’ve heard about all these people, the ‘God hates gays’ [people] all my life. But I’ve never really seen these people before,” he said. “It’s like seeing like a rare animal almost.”