Religious solicitors knocked on the doors of Cokesbury Court Apartments residents Nov. 4.
Students reported that two women dressed in business attire knocked on their doors, invited them to their Bible study and asked for their phone numbers.
Erica Coleman, entertainment business sophomore, posted on Twitter about the incident, tagging @OKCU. Two women knocked on her door between 2:30-3 p.m. yesterday.
#cokesbury why is someone knocking on my door talking to me about how there isn’t only a father in heaven but a mother, his wife…I don’t go to church, but that don’t sound right. @OKCU how did they even get it??
“When I opened the door, they proceeded to ask me questions about my faith and religious background,” Coleman said. “I honestly think that whatever I told them wasn’t going to matter because they were so determined to read me Scriptures from this weird-looking Bible.”
The women continued to tell Coleman about not only a father in Heaven, but a mother, she said.
“After she gave me this mini sermon, she asked me if I had about 20 minutes to learn more. Of course, I denied because they were not about to come into my apartment, so she kept asking if I had free time to come to their church, and if I didn’t that they would come to me,” Coleman said.
Coleman said no to all of the requests, she said.
“Once she finally got the message, she left her number and left. I didn’t think too much of it until people started telling me it could be this cult or sex trafficking, then I called the police department on campus,” she said.
Coleman said campus police called her back to let her know it was taken care of and the solicitors were escorted off campus.
Hallie Schmidt, vocal performance junior, saw two of the people by Cokesbury.
“I had never seen them before and they were dressed professionally,” she said.
Schmidt said she saw the solicitors speaking to other students.
“I was in a hurry and didn’t talk to them,” she said. “They were talking to my guy friend in front of his apartment. It was very odd.”
Students have expressed concern that the incidents were part of the “God the Mother” sex trafficking scheme that’s been said to be connected to The World Mission Society Church of God.
Police Chief Jennifer Rodgers sent an email to the campus community in response.
“At this time, OCUPD has not received any information that indicates the individuals are connected with any trafficking effort. However, as always, we encourage you to use safety precautions such as keeping your doors locked, not answering the door for strangers, and reporting any suspicious activity to the OCU Police Department at 405-208-5911,” the email reads.
Rodgers said she appreciates students calling campus police to deal with these situations.
“A lot of times people will see things and they go, ‘someone else will call them,’” Rodgers said. “So, I do appreciate them taking some action so we can direct the officers where they need to be.”
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