The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of famed and controversial evangelist Billy Graham and a religious leader in his own right, has rented out the use of the Binghamton University Events Center to hold a religious festival from June 8 to 10 of this year.

According to the Franklin Graham Festival Web site, the purpose of these festivals is to ‘bring uncommitted individuals into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and firmly establish them in a local church.’

However, Graham’s statements on the Muslim faith, on Hurricane Katrina victims, encouraging the use of nuclear weapons and on HIV/AIDS and homosexuality have made him a controversial figure in recent years and have created a great deal of student opposition to his arrival on campus.

‘I feel that his brand of extremism is adding to an environment where queer, non-Christians are marginalized,’ said senior queer studies and Student Action Collective member Adam Friedman. ‘The groups he singles out to attack are groups that people commit hate crimes against.’

Friedman, along with other members of the Student Action Collective, a progressive activist group recently formed on campus, plans to organize protests with members of other student groups who have expressed concern with Graham’s opinions being brought to campus.

In response to statements made by Graham about the AIDS virus, Alan Weissman, the director of health outreach for the Rainbow Pride Union, said, ‘The University doesn’t take it lightly when people scrawl hate graffiti on the walls of Hinman, so I don’t understand why they would want to fill up the Events Center to allow this man to spread his hate.’

In a 2005 interview with ‘Frontline,’ Graham stated ‘I believe that God created one man and one woman, He gave sex to us, God did, and sex is to be enjoyed and is to be used within the bounds that God created ‘ In sexual behavior outside the parameters that God created, we’re at high risk, and we’re seeing the evidence of this with HIV/AIDS. We’re outside of these parameters, and we have a huge global problem now.’

‘I think it’s a very dangerous that he’s trying to attach God with HIV and AIDS,’ added Weissman. ‘It’s been done in the past and has resulted in the belief that God is punishing the homosexual male with the disease. It’s not an attitude we need here on campus.’

Weissman is not the only one who believes the idea of Graham’s presence on campus to be a negative one. Graham has also described the Islamic faith as ‘a very evil and wicked religion,’ something that Muslim students are not too pleased with.

‘Religious leaders of every faith should have a strong commitment to preaching tolerance and understanding through education,’ said senior biology major and Muslim Wajeeha Sindhu. ‘Reverend Graham has in the near past inspired the polar opposite in his congregation, and has cast blame on and encouraged violence against more than 1 billion Muslim people in return for the actions of a few.’

Still, Events Center Manager Eric Backlund insists that the event was booked according to State University policy and that a great deal of research went into the decision. He went on to say that he felt the event ‘serves the community and aids the University in its mission of outreach.’

‘We have certainly hosted some speakers and events with controversial material before,’ he added. ‘Mr. Graham has not been the first and certainly will not be the last as the University strives to engage in and tolerate diversities in opinions and beliefs.’

While Graham’s public relations department declined to comment on any of the statements he has made, members of the council planning the festival have stated that they hope the event will send out a positive, rather than negative message, and that all are invited to attend.

‘A festival like this is a very unifying event,’ said Jeremy Blume, the festival spokesperson. ‘There are never any political tones to the event. Only one message of hope is all that’s present.’

Festival associate Ron Shea added, ‘We hoped no one would have a negative reaction. [Students] have nothing to be afraid of.’

Regardless of the intentions of the festival organizers, some students still worry about the message the University is sending students in allowing this kind of event to occur on campus.

‘The school does need to be careful about who they are allowing use of the Events Center,’ said Weissman. ‘They are passively endorsing these kinds of views by allowing this.’