(Nathan Ferraro/Fourth Estate)
GMU is the Latest Stop on the “Ho No Mo” Tour of Influencer Cindy Smock
BY NATHAN FERRARO, COPY EDITOR
Social media personality Cindy Smock’s visit to the Fairfax campus on Wednesday, Sept. 24 drew the attention of dozens of students on their way to class.
Smock lectured to a steadily growing crowd next to Horizon Hall and Wilkins Plaza this afternoon about Christianity and abstinence.
“My message to the students is to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ,” Smock said in an interview with Fourth Estate.
Smock, who goes by “Sister Cindy” on her TikTok profile with over 400,000 followers, has gone viral for footage of her lectures at campuses across the country. Students in the videos can typically be seen taking part in a “ho no mo” chant, which is the title of Smock’s campaign to denounce frivolous sexual activity and promote Christian ideals on college campuses.
“Read your bible; go to church; pray… Ho no mo,” she said to Fourth Estate regarding her message.
During the four-hour long lecture, Smock alternated between talking about the Bible and sexual behaviors on college campuses.
“We’re all equal before God,” Smock said during her lecture to a group of onlookers. “Male or female, we are all accountable for our actions.”
Smock also used the term “establishment hoes” to describe celebrities who, in her view, promote undesirable behavior. She cited pop singers such as Nicki Minaj and Sabrina Carpenter as examples.
She continued her talk by focusing on topics of Christianity including sin and being forgiven for sin by seeking forgiveness.
Junior Psychology major Keyanna Jackson, who attended today’s and part of yesterday’s lectures, said she was torn between taking Smock seriously or finding humor in the situation.
“She’s preaching to people who don’t actually care what she’s saying,” Jackson said.
Whether the lecture was meant to be satirical or not, Jackson said Smock’s message is harmful.
“I don’t think anyone has the right to tell us who we should be,” Jackson said. “This is not empowering … This is not love at all. This is not community.”
Jackson later participated in Smock’s lecture by reading Bible verses with her.
(Nathan Ferraro/Fourth Estate)
Smock was invited to speak at Mason by Pastor Jorge Pina of Jesus Church in Vienna. Pina, who was present at yesterday’s and today’s lectures, said he knows Smock personally and asked her to visit the area.
“She’s a very good friend of mine,” he said to Fourth Estate.
Pina also said Smock spoke at last Sunday’s service at Jesus Church.
Cindy Smock’s talk earlier today also attracted Mason BAM student Anna Putnam, a History and Global Affairs major who was handing out flyers and stickers for GMU Vote for Equality.
Putnam said she believes Smock’s message could make people feel unsafe and students of marginalized communities feel like they don’t belong on campus.
She handed out flyers endorsing Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic candidate for Virginia Governor, and stickers that said “vote as if your life depends on it” to students at Smock’s lecture. She encouraged them to vote for the right to “Ho No Mo” if they so chose.
(Nathan Ferraro/Fourth Estate)
When a Mason police officer asked Smock to refrain from using a portable microphone and speaker to communicate with the growing crowd of onlookers, students responded by moving closer to Smock and forming a circle around her on the ground.
While university policy does protect free speech on public campus grounds, it does allow for certain restrictions in the name of respecting the academic nature of campus.
Smock is one of many religious speakers and other organizers who flock to Wilkins Plaza, the main thoroughfare of the Fairfax campus, to engage with over 40,000 Mason students on their way to class.
Wilkins Plaza is also the setting of many campus events, most recently including the Get Connected Fair and Service Fair.
Smock returned to campus Thursday, Sept. 25 from noon to 4 p.m. to conclude her Mason stop on the “Ho No Mo” tour.
