Famous evangelical Christian preacher, Cindy Smock, gathered a crowd of UCF students and preached controversial anti-sex messages on Tuesday.
Cindy Smock, who goes by Sister Cindy, gained 366 thousand followers on TikTok from her preaches. Smock and her husband Jed Smock travel across the country to spread their mission on the “Honomo Revolution.” In the past week, she visited the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa. She is known for her shock value phrases, her slogan “Be A Ho No Mo,” and her commentary on university life and sexual activities. Smock calls her preaches The Sister Cindy Slut Shaming Show, and shares with students that she was once a ‘bad girl from University of Florida.’
@ohohohorileyyyy Sister Cindy’s backstory is a moving one #sistercindy #tiktokwildlifeday #science101 #jesus #collegelife #bruh ♬ original sound – Riley
“One out of three college students have an STD. There’s 20 million cases a year,” Sister Cindy said into her microphone and began pointing at students. “One, two, you have an STD. You have an STD.”
Dozens of students roared and clapped in response, encouraging Smock while they recorded her on their phones. Smock talked about controversial topics relating to sexual activity and the LGBTQ community. While she preached from the bible, some students waved rainbow flags and other LGBTQ identifying color schemes. Students who walked by stopped and asked others what was happening. Other students sat on benches and quietly observed. Others walked by, ignoring the speech.
“I am definitely skipping one of my classes right now for this. It’s a little distracting,” Jackie O’Connell said, an undecided freshman. O’Connell had recognized Sister Cindy from TikTok and said her speech was funny.
But Joseph Nadeau, an English graduate from the class of ‘96, watched for other reasons. Nadeau stood afar while holding a repentance sign. He said he came to campus on Tuesday to preach the word of God, just like Sister Cindy came to. He is a member of the Union Park Christian Church and launched his ministry on the free speech line in 2006, and has continued to do so ever since.
“God gave me a heart for young people. I feel sad for [UCF students], they do not know the truth and they rejoice in iniquity,” Nadeau said. “We are all supposed to have a relationship with God, but wickedness against him prevents that from happening.”
Becky Flanagan, a freshman forensic science major, said she knew the crowd was heckling with Sister Cindy but wanted students to remember that at the root of it, Sister Cindy spreads harmful ideas. During the Q&A, Flanagan had the opportunity to address Sister Cindy and her husband, and the crowd.
“I asked if they thought purity is directly related to how we dress,” Flanagan said. “Toxic ideals throughout our cultures have affected a large proportion of our generation. Some of the things she was spreading are harmful.”
Videos at UCF gained thousands of views. Sister Cindy has 5.9 million views on TikTok and sells private video chats and merchandise with her frequently used slogans.
