Unless you're new to UT, you have seen many people on campus trying to spread their message. Whether that message is the fight against abortion or to simply pass out flyers for Quiznos, most students have come in contact with some organization trying to make their points of view known.

The most controversial agenda pushing on the UT campus would have to be the Genocide Awareness Project. These unavoidable pictures of aborted fetuses claim to be representations of genocide. This ridiculous comparison upsets not only me, but members of Vox: Voices for Planned Parenthood as well, who were there to show women that they do have a choice. The location of these horrific photos was between Humanities and Hodges library, which is an extremely populated area between classes.

I understand that in order to make a statement, one must be guiltlessly frank, but it is wrong to force your ideas onto innocent bystanders. Like GAP, most students dread the appearance of "that guy" that angrily yells bible verses at them as they harmlessly walk to class.

"That guy," along with others strategically placed around campus, claim to be holy, but shout misquoted Bible verses and tell the students that they are all evil and going to hell. My personal favorite declaration "that guy" barks at the crowds of students is "Money is the root of all evil!"

The correct verse comes from 1 Timothy 6:10 (New International Version) and says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." It seems as though "the man" decided to change the context of the verse to attack innocent bystanders.

By no means are all of the students at UT immaculate, but I do think it is very wrong for some people to think that their way of life is the only way. These people should realize that by judging someone else's choices, they are hurting themselves and making people resist their message that much more.

Although some people are very obnoxious with their message, others are much more friendly and inviting. For example, I always look forward to seeing the people that give out free hugs. Last week, as I walked past them, they had signs that read "Free Hugs" and every person that accepted a hug had a smile on their face. Students were able to either accept or decline hugs, but the message was still the same: spread the love.

Of course, everyone knows the antitheses of "that guy" are the Gideons, aka the men that pass out the green Bibles. The Gideons dress in suits and have, what seems to be, an endless supply of the pocket-sized New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. Even if they are every 15 feet and every man offers a Bible, if you say "No, thank you," they smile and tell you to have a good day. The way the Gideons represent themselves made me want to accept what they were passing out.

I recently received a flyer about the hot-button topic of animal rights. Because of the non invasive way I received the information I was interested in reading the pamphlet.

So whether or not you are like me and look forward to free hugs and dread holy hypocrites, we all must accept the fact that freedom of speech is alive and well. Even though we sometimes do not like what people have to say, it is everyone's right to convey their message.