Whether you agree with him or not, Marvin Brown is the elusive icon behind the 400 neon green T-shirts that created a mystery on campus earlier this week.

Students speculated about the identity of the man who inspired hundreds of T-shirts proclaiming in bold black letters, “I agree with Marvin.” The mystified masses played a campus game of Where’s Waldo, looking for someone wearing an “I am Marvin” T-shirt and asking one question:

Who is Marvin?

Answer: He is a Speech senior and a football player. And at Northwestern’s first Veritas Forum Wednesday night, he wore a bright orange “I am Marvin” T-shirt.

Brown said during a speech on Wednesday that he has accepted Jesus Christ as the truth – in Latin, “Veritas” – and told students that if they did, they would agree with him.

“Just because your parents don’t believe in God or your friends don’t, that doesn’t mean they are right,” Brown said. “What I’ve come to understand is that there was only man who was without sin, and that’s Jesus Christ.”

Brown’s speech was the last at “Voices from Northwestern,” the first event of NU’s Veritas Forum.

The forum, founded in 1992 at Harvard College and now held at more than 80 secular universities, is a collaborative exploration of student, faculty and alumni encounters with truth through Jesus Christ at the university.

While speaking, Brown discussed his acceptance of Jesus Christ as truth, which occurred his sophomore year of high school at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes summer camp.

Ever since, Brown has made religion an integral component of his life.

Brown said he was initially reluctant to be the focal point of the “I agree with” advertising campaign. Chris Sarver, an adviser at the Campus Crusade for Christ, and Collin Hansen, a member of the group, approached him with the idea. Brown said they told him they had been praying for a name to use in the “I agree with” campaign, and that his name was the answer.

“At first I wasn’t totally excited because I was scared, but I didn’t want to disobey God,” Brown said. “I felt God was speaking through them.”

Many Veritas Forum planners said they thought Brown would deliver the message of faith in a very personal way.

“He seemed like God’s man for the job,” said Tiffany Bassett, a member of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Brown said many people believe he was behind the “I agree with Marvin” campaign, but he said this was not a self-created opportunity.

Brown, who will graduate in June with a major in communications and a minor in economics, has repeatedly emphasized to T-shirt-wearing followers throughout the week that he’s “just a normal guy.” He spends most of his time playing or practicing football, studying, watching TV, hanging out with his friends and, of course, praying.

“Prayer is really what makes my life what it is,” Brown said. “It has taught me to be submissive to God.”

Brown also attends Fellowship of Christian Athlete meetings on Tuesday nights and was president last year of One Love, a joint arts performance by campus Christian groups.

Brown said his faith, though very fulfilling, has made life difficult at times because of all the peer pressure at college to drink or smoke.

“It’s very hard to abstain, especially being with all the football players,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of temptation.”

But he said his beliefs have been an invaluable aid during his college years, especially in athletics. Brown plays strong safety for the NU football team.

“I’ve really developed perseverance with Christ in my life,” Brown said. “I feel like God has given me a lot of strength.”

Brown said many students have approached him during the week with questions about the “I agree with Marvin” campaign and asked if he was “the” Marvin.

He said he was very careful to avoid becoming egotistical from the attention he received.

“At first I was like ‘Wow, people agree with me,’ but I didn’t want it to go to my head,” Brown said. “There’s a big difference between saying they agree with me and believing in me.”

He has heard of anti-Marvin campaigns, such as students wearing shirts reading “I don’t.” But he said he definitely would go through the experience again.

“Being able to share Christ in that atmosphere to that many people at once was awesome,” Brown said.

Brown isn’t sure what he will be doing after he graduates in June. He said he might mentor high school students or travel abroad.

“My door is wide open and I like it that way,” Brown said. “I feel like there are a lot of things I want to do.”