Washington University community members gathered in Tisch Commons to hold a demonstration ahead of a talk on marriage and the importance of procreation by Reverend Jonathan Fisk, and sponsored by the Lutheran Student Fellowship, Monday evening.

The event, titled “Nothing But Love: A Demonstration of Inclusion,” was organized by freshmen Grace Kavinsky and Noah Heilenbach in response to controversy and concerns regarding the conservative Fisk’s previous anti-LGBTQIA* rhetoric.

Jennifer Ra | Student Life

People gather in Tisch Commons for the counter protest. The counter protest was held in opposition to a speech by Reverend Jonathan Fisk hosted by the Lutheran Student Fellowship.

Following the publicizing of Fisk’s lecture entitled “Original Diversity: Man and Woman in Christ,” Heilenbach and Kavinsky began planning their response, contacting Assistant Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences Jami Ake for guidance. In the wake of violent student protests that led to the cancellation of a Milo Yiannopoulos talk at the University of California, Berkeley, Heilenbach and Kavinsky were careful to frame the event as a peaceful demonstration rather than a protest.

“We didn’t want to obstruct his path to getting up to the room. And we weren’t going to write a letter to Chancellor Wrighton or some university bigwig saying ‘this person shouldn’t be allowed to speak,’” Heilenbach said. “We wanted to have a peaceful demonstration of our disapproval, and more importantly, an opportunity for all of us to get together and start building a coalition among students who are very like-minded but don’t always get to interact.”

Freshman Hannah Wheaton began the counter-event by leading a rendition of “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie. Featured speakers include junior Olivia Beres, freshman Maya Terry and Jeffrey McCune, professor of African and African-American Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Beres stated that the Lutheran Campus Ministry, which she is part of and which cosponsored the counter-event, is unapologetically pro-choice, pro-woman and pro-LGBTQIA*. She clarified that Fisk’s views are not representative of the views of others in the Christian faith.

“[I’ve] seen that the majority of people at [Wash. U.] and the majority of Christians don’t believe this. These are some hateful voices that do not represent most Christians and most Lutherans,” Beres said.

A term used in Fisk lecture’s title, “Original Diversity,” generated questions and confusion from some, and McCune viewed the term as promoting a singular form of Christianity representing a white, heterosexual, patriarchal perspective.

“I have no idea what an ‘Original Diversity’ talk looks like. Diversity requires more than one and the perspectives of Fisk seem to be preoccupied with one type,” McCune said.

According to Fisk, the term “original diversity” refers to genetic diversity within men and women that allow them to reproduce.

“The idea is that from a Christian perspective, we believe that God made us, male and female, and that that diversity exists so that we can procreate and have children. So that original diversity of creation, man and woman, exist so that species can continue. And that is a good thing,” Fisk said.

According to junior Ethan Schueler, a member of Lutheran Student Fellowship leadership, the group that brought in Fisk, the talk was intentionally scheduled to follow Sex Week due to the relevancy of a discussion of sex and marriage.

“It is to comment on how we view our lives in terms of procreation and what that means for society and what that could mean economically too,” Schueler said.

Though they did not anticipate the controversy that ensued, Schueler insists that the goal of inviting Fisk was to generate dialogue and engage in a discussion amongst the student body.

“Our event was really to bring about a discussion that a lot of times isn’t had. And maybe this type of event, both this event and their event, will foster some sort of dialogue on campus. And it’s certainly not to marginalize anybody but it’s to engage people in a discussion. That was really our goal,” Schueler said.

During Fisk’s speech, he emphasized that the focus of his talk was not on the LGBTQIA* community but on promoting child-bearing within marital relationships in order to ensure the future success of the human race. He supported his advocacy of reproduction by citing declining birth rates worldwide.

“Whether you’re of homosexual orientation or heterosexual orientation, what are we going to do about the fact that no one is having kids on a world level. I shouldn’t say ‘no one’ but it’s a significant problem,” Fisk said.

The majority of his hour-long lecture focused on demographics, with a significant portion dedicated to discussion of a declining workforce, aging population and declining birth rates, leading to crippling economic issues that younger generations will be forced to tackle.

“When I saw that this protest was going to take place, I really wanted to try to provide a talking point for the event that was something that could be common ground and something that we all could sink our teeth into even if you disagree with my view on man and woman,” Fisk said. “I don’t go around talking about marriage regularly. My goal is to talk about Jesus regularly; who he is, what he’s done, the history of that, the defense of that as an idea, and how that’s good news for humanity.”

Heilenbach emphasized that the demonstration was not an attack on the Lutheran Student Fellowship and expressed his excitement to meet with members of their leadership.

“We harbor no resentment toward the Lutheran Student Fellowship. The idea that ‘Nothing But Love’ was an ad hominem attack on any member of that group is inaccurate and was not our intention,” Heilenbach said.