The Marquette Tribune campus news since 1916
Volume 109, Number 25
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
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Man claims to be God, slashes Gesu doors Parish has been vandalized twice in three weeks By Elena Metinidis
elena.metinidis@marquette.edu
A
ron Mark Ferris was charged by Milwaukee County prosecutors with a felony of criminal damage to religious property and a misdemeanor of disorderly conduct using a dangerous weapon. On April 5 — Easter Sunday — the 50-year-old Green Bay man slashed the doors of the Church of the Gesu and told police he was God, according to a criminal complaint. The door repair is expected to cost about $50,000. Despite most Marquette students being home for Easter break, the Marquette University Police Department did not send out a safety alert or an email about the event. This marks the second case of vandalism at Gesu within three weeks. Police responded to the parish around 4 p.m., where they found Ferris sitting on the church’s altar steps with an ax. The complaint said Ferris repeated that he was God as officers tried getting him to toss his weapons
Photo by Lance Schulteis lance.schulteis@marquette.edu
On April 5 — Easter Sunday — 50-year-old Aron Mark Ferris slashed the doors of the Church of the Gesu and told police he was God.
aside. He told officers if they shot him, the bullet would turn around on them. Police found the ax, two knives, a multitool, a loaded rifle and extra ammunition after handcuffing Ferris and searching his possessions. In his car, they found a loaded handgun, and snacks and drinks to sustain him during his time at the church. While interviewing with police, Ferris talked in detail
about how he believed he was God, according to the complaint. He said he took an ax to the church door because it was locked and chose to go on Easter because “there would be people there that he could tell his story to.” Ferris said his gun was for drawing media and public attention. Ferris will undergo a competency exam since the court believes he is
competent to proceed, an online court record said. Another hearing will occur May 11, where a judge will consider a doctor’s report after the competency exam. This incident follows a vandalism incident at the Church of the Gesu from March 18 involving Demetres Xaviar Martece Henderson, 29, who is charged with criminal damage to property. His damage to
several statues, candle holders, kneelers and other items in the church amounted to an estimated $25,000. Both incidents occurred despite increased regular church patrols by Marquette University Police officers and increased security camera monitoring. Recent renovations to the upper church also included security cameras and a security desk near the entryway.
MU professor tells Wisconsin's story on PBS "The Look Back" is an educational history TV series By Lance Schulteis
lance.schulteis@marquette.edu
In Sensenbrenner Hall 203B, blank spaces on the wall are few and far between. The glossy, white walls are hidden behind posters, history books and Milwaukee Brewers memorabilia — making Sergio González’s office not just a workspace, but an ode to Wisconsin’s history. Born to Mexican immigrants, the associate professor of history has an emphasis on Latino studies, represented on the office walls with posters that read “Migration is beautiful” and “¡No pasarán!” —
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“They shall not pass!” Bookshelves act as runners along his walls, holding history in hundreds of thousands of pages. González has read most of them but also spends his time writing his own. His most recent book, “Strangers No Longer,” was released in 2024. The Brewers bobbleheads, just over his right shoulder, were collected during his summer internship with the team’s community foundation in 2009. But, just like the walls in his office, there is little blank space in González’s calendar. When he’s not teaching, reading, spending time with his family or watching the Brewers, the middle school teacher-turned-college professor can be found in
Madison, where he cohosts an educational TV show for PBS Wisconsin. “Acting is just like when you’re in front of students — you’re doing a bit of a performance,” González said. “You’re trying to keep people engaged, you’re trying to make information accessible.” “The Look Back” is a history series for fourthto-sixth grade teachers to use in their classrooms. Episodes, each roughly ten minutes long, tell the history of Wisconsin through artifacts from the Wisconsin Historical Society. González is one of five historians to host the show, all of whom have day jobs outside of PBS. In his episodes, González has done show-and-tell of bicycles, maps and even an
airplane from 1929. That episode, “Airway Beacon,” was nominated for a regional Emmy. But even with the award nomination, the aviation episode isn’t González’s favorite. Instead, his top memory is showing off a worn-down
bunk bed in a 2024 episode called “Ripe for Change.” The bed was used by migrant farm workers in Wisconsin in the mid-1900s, and because he focuses on Latino history, González helped write the script. In the episode, he talks about
Index
News
Sports
Opinions
Milwaukee Day is celebrated with various events across the city.
First-year goalie's confidence grows with each game..
A nearby school district passed the policy "Restoring Biological Truth."
SPORTS.......................................................5 OPINIONS..................................................9 FUN & GAMES........................................11 A&E.................................................................12
What is 414 Day? Learn about the local holiday PAGE 2
Photo by Clay Ellis-Escobar clay.ellis-escobar@marquette.edu
Professor Sergio González has an emphasis on Latino studies.
Howell silences self doubt PAGE 5
See STORY page 4
Anti-LGBTQ+ protocols threaten local students PAGE 9