…and, according to Chris Pesto, it ain’t the woman in the corduroy skirt. On November 18th, the unfortunately dressed woman, Michelle Defario, and her father, Jim, headed up to Syracuse University to preach some hate. See, Michelle and Jim belong to an organization called the Open-Air Complainers, er… I mean, “Campaigners”, an Evangelical group that spews their ignorance in public places. Initially, they went generally unheeded. But that was until Chris, a junior drama major, and all around rockstar, noticed them after leaving voice lessons. “I decided that because this woman thought it was okay to make me feel uncomfortable in my home, I would retaliate and make her feel just as uncomfortable, if not more,” Chris recalled in a statement. So he grabbed some poster board, a couple of markers and went to town. It wasn’t long until he attracted the kind of crowd Michelle and Jim only hoped to attract. People were asking for pictures with him, honking their horns in support – some even showed up with counter protest signs of their own.

But it didn’t stop there. Chris’ show of courageous hilarity attracted the attention of a news station, several student organization papers and the Post Standard of Syracuse. Perhaps most importantly, the administration of Syracuse University recognized the will of their student body and informed the Defarios that they were no longer welcome on school property. Best of all, Chris proved that you don’t have to be ugly about things – snarky works just fine. So, here’s to Chris, and to the hope that drama-majoring, voice lesson-taking, Converse-rockin’ gay dudes lead protests more often. I might show up to one on occasion.

via Daily Orange

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