An uproar could be heard across the Main Quad as a large group of students gathered in front of the Illini Union at noon to hear the infamous Sister Cindy speak to students once again.

Cynthia Smock, known for her antics under the name Sister Cindy, is an Evangelical campus preacher from Indiana who travels from university to university. Her ongoing “HO NO MO” tour is dedicated to her late husband, Brother Jed, who passed away in early June. The University was her second stop on this year’s tour.

This is not Sister Cindy’s first time at the University. Exactly one year ago, on Sept. 8, 2021, Sister Cindy was on campus preaching about sexuality, women’s rights and decisions.

Sister Cindy focused much of her speech on trying to sway young women away from what she sees as an immoral lifestyle.

“There are a lot of beautiful women on campus,” Sister Cindy said. “But, many of them are hoes.”

Everything Sister Cindy said was met with applause and cheers from the crowd as they expressed their joking support for her. Much to the crowd’s delight, Sister Cindy passed out several “HO NO MO” pins. Sister Cindy, however, was selective with who she awarded them to.

“I do have some ‘HO NO MO’ pins,” Sister Cindy said. “I don’t have a lot of them, because they’re for the virgins.”

With her strong opinions, she entertained the large group of students around her, talking about ongoing topics and issues in the world and inserting her religious opinions. Many students, however, were simply there to have a laugh, such as Eliana Jaramillo, freshman in LAS.

“I think it’s just funny,” Jaramillo said. “I don’t take it seriously, obviously everything she’s spewing is just hate and none of it is any good. Just seeing it on TikTok, at this point, people just take her as a joke.”

While students agreed that she was spreading hate with her speech, many also find her speeches to be entertaining.

“Everyone here is smiling, having fun,” said Nathan Smolinski, sophomore in Division of General Studies. “I guess the fact that she can bring smiles to everyone is good.”

Several students joined the crowd as it caught their attention while walking across the quad.

“I was walking between classes and I saw this crowd and thought, ‘I’ve gotta check this out,’” said Hamza Omali, freshman in Engineering. “I figured it was Sister Cindy, I’ve seen her on TikTok and I needed to see this in real life.”

Whenever Sister Cindy tours campuses across the country, countless clips of her speeches pop up on social media like TikTok.

While Sister Cindy does appear to be quite passionate about what she preaches, some students believe that she tours around the country for attention.

“I think maybe she likes attention, because she’s definitely brining a lot of it,” said Victor Cantet, junior in Engineering.

When the news began to spread amongst the crowd that Queen Elizabeth had passed away, Sister Cindy took time to honor her in prayer, recognizing her “power as a figurehead” and “influence.”

Sister Cindy has allegedly announced that this will be her final tour of college campuses.

While much of what Sister Cindy said caused the audience to chant in mock support, a comment she said about consent roused a much more supportive response, with students shouting in agreement, many in surprise that they agreed with the preacher.

“Just because she’s dressed like a hoe, doesn’t mean she wants to do you,” Sister Cindy said.

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