Sister Cindy, the viral street preacher, made an appearance on the Pentacrest Thursday, drawing large crowds of roughly 100 students, faculty, and passerbys alike.
Born Cynthia D. Lasseter Smock, the 66-year old gained a following on her Tik Tok account for her anti-pre-marital sex and anti-feminist views.
Prior to posting on her Tik Tok account, which has amassed 408,000 followers in the five years the account has been active, Smock and her husband have been preaching on college campuses for over 40 years. Despite her controversial messaging, Smock has gained a large following and is currently on her fall 2025 tour.
Chanting her slogan “Ho No Mo” and passing out signed pins when students answered questions correctly, Sister Cindy has made an impression across several other campuses in Iowa over the last couple weeks.
During the event, she welcomed UI students to the “Ho No Mo” revolution multiple times, and brought them up to speak with her directly, frequently calling out students for promiscuous behavior.
Students in the crowd seemed to have mixed feelings regarding Smock and her contentious messaging. Nina Osborne, a UI third-year student, said Smock’s act to be completely satirical in nature.
“I just find it funny. I think it’s just ridiculous to the point of being funny. So if that’s her intention, then it’s really smart,” Osborne said. “And it’s not her intention, then she still has a lot of people watching her.”
One member of the crowd, Moss Murty, wearing a cropped “Ho No Mo” shirt and holding a sign with transgender rights and abortion resources on it, said they found out Smock was making an appearance on the UI’s campus because they are mutuals on Tik Tok.
Murty said, in the past, they have followed Smock to multiple events such as those on the University of Northern Iowa’s campus.
“College is a place where you’re supposed to be able to share your ideas and gain new world views,” Murty said. “So I see no issue with saying whatever the hell you want to say on campus.”
However, others such as Jensen Cooper, a UI student, found the messaging frustrating and divisive.
Cooper said as a Christian, he felt ashamed that Smock was only preaching sexual purity.
“The biggest part of Christianity is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, and she doesn’t preach that,” Cooper said. “That’s really a shame, because many people have gone through many things, and Jesus forgives us of our sins, even the sexual sins.”
Most students agreed they respected Smock’s right to free speech and to events such as these as long as the speaker wasn’t promoting anything violent.
Chelsea McCarthy said she finds Smock to be mostly satirical in nature and her events more a spectacle than anything.
“I’m kind of very neutral. I mean it’s like you do what you got to do. Like everyone just lives their life. If you want to go out and say what you believe, go ahead,” McCarthy said.