Updated Monday Sept. 16
K-State students and other followers of the TurningPoint USA “X” site were reacting Friday afternoon to what they alleged was a purposeful shutdown of public address equipment by KSU administration during a tabling event by organization founder and President Charlie Kirk on the Manhattan campus.
KSU was the last of four scheduled stops on TurningPoint’s “You’re Being Brainwashed” Tour, a series of campus Presentations aimed at providing conservative data and opinion to college students, “arming them with the principles and tools necessary to fight against the pervasive, leftist indoctrination found on most campuses,” according to an August statement from TurningPoint announcing the tour.
K-State students who contacted the Kansas Informer and whose social media sites were monitored said public address equipment Kirk was using at his tabling event to address a large crowd was shut down after university staff said such equipment was not allowed. Tabling – in which organizations typically set up tables on K-state’s Bosco Plaza to engage passing students – is a typical means of approaching students there and is allowed by campus policy.
Kirk was apparently scheduled to be on the Plaza from Noon to 1:30 p.m., but students said his microphone was shut off, apparently by university staff, at 1:30 p.m. Kirk then moved into the crowd to speak and sign Make America Great Again hats which TurningPoint was giving away to students.
K-State’s communications office said Monday morning the visiting speakers were notified in advance of the university policy on amplified sound, which is allowed from noon-1 p.m. a policy the office said is in place to limit disruptions to classes taking place in nearby buildings.
“The presenters failed to cease amplified sound within the allowed time, and after several repeated on-site requests to comply, the sound was turned off. The group continued the event without amplified sound per policy,” read a statement from the university.
Kirk’s “You’re Being Brainwashed” tour included previous stops at The University of Wisconsin at Madison, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of North Texas at Denton.
TurningPointUSA is a non-profit organization that advocates conservative causes and philosophy to high school, college and university campuses nationwide. Its affiliate groups Turning Point Endowment, Turning Point Action and TPUSA Faith have been described as the fastest growing organization of campus chapters in America, and the dominant force in campus conservatism.
Dane Hicks is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidate School at Quantico, VA. He is the author of novels "The Skinning Tree" and "A Whisper For Help." As publisher of the Anderson County Review in Garnett, KS., he is a recipient of the Kansas Press Association's Boyd Community Service Award as well as more than 60 awards for excellence in news, editorial and photography.
