With over 340,000 followers on TikTok, Cindy Smock, better known as Sister Cindy, amassed a crowd of an estimated 400 students, to whom she preached about how to become a “Ho No Mo” outside of Parks Library on Thursday.

According to previous reporting from the Daily, Sister Cindy is associated with Campus Ministry USA, a group led by her husband George Edward Smock, also known as “Brother Jed.” They together make up a group of evangelists who tour the country preaching to college students.

Sister Cindy was accompanied by Vijay Pisini and three other associates who chose not to disclose their names.

“Our mission is to call students to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ,” Cindy said.

When asked to define her slogan “Ho No Mo,” which is an abbreviation of “hoe no more,” Cindy said it is meant to refer to any type of sex outside of marriage. She cited the Bible and said that the Bible refers to it as “being a whore or a whoremonger.”

Sandra Marcu, director of the Margaret Sloss Center for Women and Gender Equity, said it is disappointing that Sister Cindy has a platform in regard to the size of the crowd she attracted. 

Marcu spoke on the dangers of platforming rhetoric like Cindy’s. She said that treating messages like Sister Cindy’s Slut Shaming Show as if they’re a comedic spectacle feeds into the narrative that slut-shaming is okay, which Marcu vehemently disavows. 

“It feeds this narrative that it’s okay to slut shame people, it’s okay to make homophobic remarks; that it’s all within the realm of comedy or fun, when it’s really not,” Marcu said.

When asked if slut-shaming is OK, Cindy said, “Yes. Guilt is good. Guilt leads to repentance and faith, but you do need to get your guilt cleansed.”

“I’m all about freedom of expression on campus and I think it’s healthy to have dialogue, but I think it’s unfortunate that someone spouting such hateful rhetoric is getting such applause and platform,” Marcu said.

Sylas Walker, a freshman majoring in computer engineering, disagreed with Cindy’s message.

“I don’t think it’s O.K. to publicly slut-shame people, then get a massive following from it,” Walker said. “I’m here and a whole bunch of other people are here just to give her the rudeness she gives back.”

Walker said Iowa State endorses Cindy’s message of slut-shaming by having her on campus. He said that the university has a responsibility to police “extreme radical views,” and it isn’t acceptable to have Cindy slut-shaming on campus.

Vijay Pisini took over the preaching for Sister Cindy as she ate lunch.

As Pisini began to preach, the surrounding crowd became more turbulent, climaxing with Pisini asking a student who had lost his mother if she had known that he was stupid.

The comment was made in response to a student from the crowd who had asked Pisini if he prefers “ass or tits.” Pisini said his comment was made to illustrate the point that giving a right answer to a wrong question is always wrong.

Pisini said he did not mean the comment personally, and that it was purely made to illustrate his point, sharing his sorrow for the student’s passed mother, as well as sharing that he has lost his own. 

Rev. Jennifer Hibben, director of Vine Campus Ministry, was seen near Sister Cindy’s demonstration holding a sign with “nope” quoted by God on one side, and the words “you are all beautiful” on the other side.

The Vine is an organization that seeks to be a place of worship, learning and fellowship between students and other members of Collegiate Presbyterian Church, according to the Iowa State Student Organization website.

“There is a religious presence here on campus that would not support this type of horrible, harmful anti-Christian rhetoric,” Hibben said.