Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA make appearance at Penn State HUB lawn

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Political figure Charlie Kirk and his conservative advocacy organization Turning Point USA made a stop at University Park on Thursday as a leg of the “You’re Being Brainwashed” Tour.

The tour website describes a mission statement to “empower and educate college students with the principles and tools they need to challenge left-wing indoctrination on college campuses.”

The speaker event was slated to occur at 12:00 p.m. and consisted of multiple tents on the HUB lawn. One station was dedicated entirely to voter registration, while the main tent was reserved for Kirk and his debate table.

As the event was about to begin, hundreds of red ‘Make America Great Again’ hats were handed out to students, painting the lawn red from a bird's eye view.

A few minutes after the event was set to truly begin, Kirk’s microphone was cut, much to the outrage of those in attendance. The stated reason for the de-amplification was due to failing to adhere to a section of university policy AD51.

“Under AD51, however, there are requirements that must be followed including the prohibition of the use of sound amplification equipment between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.” according to Penn State spokesperson Lisa Powers.

Kirk stayed around for another hour, taking photographs with fans, although he and his team were noticeably upset that their megaphone was cut off.

Also present was the Student Committee for Defense & Solidarity, a student activist organization present in protest of the Turning Point USA event, touting signs stating “shut down racists” and “defund hate speech.”

SCDS demonstrators were in turn met with a torrent of slurs and hateful comments from students wearing MAGA hats, an occurrence which perhaps lines up with the organization’s position- that allowing far-right speakers on campus enables bigotry and an unsafe environment for students in minority demographics.

At 12:30 p.m. the SCDS demonstration had cleared out, and their media liaison declined to comment on the protest.

CommRadio reporters asked students in attendance what they felt about the event:

“I think everything about this whole event is great, I think it’s good to get people’s opinions out there and to hear other people’s opinions,” said Dom, a student who wanted to check out what all the commotion was about on the lawn.

“I don’t have a single problem with it.”

Others were less enthusiastic, stating their disappointment with the behavior shown by Kirk enthusiasts upset with the SCDS protest. “It's the people who can’t handle civil discourse that ruin it for everyone,” said a Philadelphia native who preferred to remain anonymous.

Turning Point USA is scheduled for another appearance at Penn State on Oct. 17th in the Thomas Building, headlined instead by Vivek Ramaswamy who ran for president in the 2024 Republican primary.

Trip Tagle is a second-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact them, please email tnt5403@psu.edu.