On the final stop of her spring 2026 college tour, the viral Cindy Smock — known as Sister Cindy on social media — visited UC Irvine on Tuesday, April 28.
Smock has visited college campuses for over 40 years, spreading her evangelical preaching coupled with Gen Z slang. Smock has been widely accepted by university students nationwide. Her divisive, pro-abstinence and marriage-first mentality draws in supporters, spectators and protesters.
“God is the Holy Spirit, and he will empower you to live a hoe no mo life,” Smock said to students at Ring Mall near Langson Library. “He will empower you… to say no to the hoes!”
The passionate and oftentimes vulgar descriptions of sex and masturbation lured in over 100 Anteaters over the course of her five hour event. Crowding around Smock as she spoke from a green lawn chair, a semi-circle of students sat around her, with a larger group standing behind them. Most were loud and expressive, as they cheered, booed or gasped at Smock’s words.
“I have a confession to make, students. I used to be a hoe,” Smock said. “I will tell you about my hoe story, but right now, we need to cover the seven levels of hoes in depth.”
Smock went on to spend her first few hours at UCI listing the seven levels, complete with individual names: “beau hoe,” “oopsie hoe,” “hook-up hoe,” “mega hoe,” “giga hoe,” “vampire hoe” and “establishment hoe.” After a brief description of each one, she had student volunteers read verses from the bible to back up her claims. Students eagerly volunteered to read aloud.
Isaiah Pro, a fourth-year nursing student, was excited to see Smock in action.
“My friend told me [about Smock coming to UCI], and I think I’ve been following Sister Cindy [since] she got popular a couple years ago,” Pro told New University. “And I was like, I need to come out.”
Despite his admiration for the preacher, Pro questioned Smock’s authenticity and ability to inspire religiousness.
“I think it’s satirical,” Pro said. “I don’t think people are gonna get converted from this.”
Smock has been touring campuses on and off since the 1970s alongside her late husband George E. Smock, or Brother Jed. The pair preached to students primarily at the University of Florida. It wasn’t until around 2021, just one year before her husband would die, that the Sister Cindy persona took off in the digital landscape. The preacher has since amassed thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram.
“Before I knew the Lord, I wondered, how do I live?,” Smock said during her speech to students. “What is the purpose of life? What is the meaning of life? My ho friend came up to me and said, ‘Is this all there is?’ I mean, who’s ever had sex and thought, what? The Christian faith teaches us how to know God. And we were all made to know God and live in a loving relationship [with Him]”
Throughout her talk, Smock asked questions about what she said, prompting attendees to raise their hands or shout out answers. This kept students engaged in her conversational lecture that was to culminate with a “final exam.” Every correct answer earned a student an official “Ho No Mo” button — complete with her Sharpied signature and a selfie at the request of some students.
Brother David Alcocer, a friend of Smock for 49 years and fellow street preacher, spoke to students about finding God. Dressed in a Make America Great Again jersey, shorts and shoes, Alcocer’s clothing prompted several people in the crowd to protest.
Student Oliver Rivas stepped away from the crowd to yell at Alcocer, making fun of his clothes and calling for him to leave.
“I think it was fine until, like, we see some guy with a Trump jersey saying Trump is doing all good for our country, you know?,” Rivas told New University. “Honestly, in some aspects, sure, depending on where you’re standing, because we all have different opinions … What he’s saying, it’s just BS. Honestly, I just, I disagree with it, and since I have free speech, I was disagreeing with it publicly.”
The religious event ended with a group prayer, where students held hands in a circle to pray alongside Smock.
Smock and her team did not respond to New University’s request for an interview.
Cassandra Nava is a 2025-2026 Layout Editor. She can be reached at cassan2@uci.edu.
