The week of November 5th Brighton High students started receiving flyers for the Kill The Noise school tour, lead by The Whosoevers. The flyer didn’t give much detail aside from free pizza and product giveaways. I myself and many others assumed it would be a band based on the tour name. Music is intriguing but what brought in the majority of people was without a doubt the pizza. A couple friends and myself attended thinking it might become a fun and memorable memory. We arrived and the men were throwing shirts, hats, and other merch items. We sat down with hope that it would be entertaining enough.
As soon as it started, it had ended for us. Ryan Ries quickly began talking to us about none other than God himself. Ries continued to go into vivid detail about his life and how God truly saved him one night in his hotel room. My friends and I sat there in the back row deathly uncomfortable. One of the friends who attended the public speaking with me is Muslim and sat there in silence as Ries guided the auditorium in a group prayer. Ryan went on to say that he could help us have our souls saved. That was the final straw for us 3 girls, we then left the auditorium in shock.
I strongly believe that they crossed a line with this “performance.” Mentioning that they are religious would have been okay, but it stopped being fine when Ries began preaching to the students and even conducting a prayer. This is not considered a violation of the separation of church and state because it was optional for all students and teachers. My problem is that it was not advertised for what it actually was. Not only that but they brought kids in giving as little detail as possible with the incentive of free food.