by Christopher Sanchez
Daily Lobo
A UNM student was cited for battery on Wednesday after pushing a campus evangelist off a concrete ledge that he was preaching on.
"We received a report of a preacher who was doing his normal preaching at the SUB," said Lt. Patrick Davis of the UNM Police Department. "A spectator became angry at what he was telling her, and she pushed him off the podium."
Matt Bourgault, a campus evangelist, argued with students in front of the SUB while he held his Bible and a sign that read, "heathens beware."
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More than 50 students were present during the four hours Bourgault preached in front of the SUB. Bourgault said the majority of students at UNM are lost and need to be saved, or else they will be condemned to hell.
"Campuses and universities are latent with sin - homosexuals, drunkards, liars and thieves," said Bourgault, clenching his Bible. "There are some that are Christian, but the majority people here are lost, and I'm concerned about that."
UNM student Meisha Dwight, who was charged with battery at the scene, said she pushed the preacher off the podium when he made sexist comments.
"I was standing listening to this preacher guy, and he was spitting on females and saying the only thing they were good for was procreation," Dwight said. "I went behind him and pushed him off the ledge."
Bourgault said Dwight pushed him off the concrete ledge but would not speak of his alleged comment about women.
Dwight said she will be pressing charges against Bourgault because he spit in her face when she told him a Bible verse that stumped him.
Davis said Dwight has not reported that Bourgault spit in her face. The Police Department will further investigate the situation if she reports the incident, he said.
UNM student Travis McKenzie sat with five students who held a sign that read "religion has left a bloody trail." He was irate over Bourgault's comments, he said.
"This guy is preaching and trying to condemn everybody," McKenzie said.
He said Bourgault was preaching hatred to UNM students.
"When he said, 'Repent,' and held out his finger, I felt thousands of years of people dying," McKenzie said. "You could feel it in his voice."
Bourgault said he was fulfilling his duty as a Christian by preaching the gospel.
"The Bible says go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," he said. "I'm obeying the command of God to go preach and try and win the lost."
UNM student Sara Escobedo said Bourgault was misrepresenting Christianity.
"Unfortunately, he is turning away people from Christianity," Escobedo said. "I am a Catholic, and he says I am going to hell."
Bourgault said Catholics cannot pray to Mary and expect to go to heaven.
"You're Catholic?" he said, looking at Escobedo. "I say you better get on the right way with Jesus."
Students who were Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim argued with Bourgault because he told them they were going to hell because of their beliefs.
Bourgault said he received a lot of hateful remarks from students, but he was prepared to face anything to save the students.
"I care about them enough to come here and face whatever I need to take, and give the gospel out and preach and pray that God save some," Bourgault said.
Dwight regretted her decision to push Bourgault off the concrete ledge, but said UNM should not allow people to come to the University and impose their religious beliefs on other people.
"I don't think he should be able to get in people's faces and tell them they are going to hell," Dwight said.
Davis said Bourgault was allowed to say whatever he pleased because he had a permit to be on campus.
"The preacher had a permit so at that point it doesn't matter what he says," he said.
