The Pacific Community’s Response to Turning Point USA
Photo provided by Miranda Duarte
Learn more about how Pacific community members have been reacting to the recent Turning Point USA event and administration’s response to the backlash!
On February 13th, Pacific’s Turning Point USA Chapter announced that they would be hosting their first event at the Janet Leigh Theatre; a seminar titled “The Truth about Transgenderism with Pastor Yoo.” Almost immediately this seminar faced backlash from students. Many LGBTQ+ students on campus took to the comments of the Instagram post to express their feelings and disappointment in the University for allowing this event to happen.
Pacific students Leah Brent, Emma Garber, Ria Patel, and Lyman Peterson worked together to create an email template for students to send out with the subject line: “Students Will Not Tolerate Transphobia.” Dozens of emails were sent to staff, faculty, and administration demanding the cancellation of this event and removal of Turning Point USA from Pacific’s campus. Along with this email template, Brent also created a petition called, “Stop the Anti-Transgender Event at the University of the Pacific,” which at the time of publication, has nearly 2,000 signatures ranging from community members to students and even alumni. This event and its response have been heard of all across Pacific’s campus.
On February 20th, Vice President of Student Life, Maria Blandizzi, began responding to these emails. Blandizzi emphasized that this event was not a University event, but instead an event being hosted by a Registered Student Organization (RSO). She also made it clear that the University does not endorse this event, but they cannot cancel it no matter how big the backlash gets to honor the right of free speech. That same day, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center announced that they would be hosting a Town Hall Meeting open to all community members to come and ask questions and voice their opinions.
Many students and community members attended the Town Hall Meeting, Provost Gretchen Edwalds-Gilbert, VP Maria Blandizzi, ASUOP President Katherine Moreno, and many other high-ranking staff members were also present. First to speak was Blandizzi. She began by reemphasizing that the Turning Point event was not a University event and also provided us with information about the event itself. She stated that Turning Point became an RSO at Pacific in January, Turning Point is a legitimate organization with over 3,500 chapters across the country, no university funds were used for the event, Turning Point has not requested university funds at all, and the University does not endorse this event.
Blandizzi also took some time to go over some key factors of free speech and make clear that the University could not stop the event because Turning Point had gone through all the proper channels. Later in the event, Domenic Jimenez, the Assistant Director of Student Organizations and Leadership Programs spoke about the process of becoming an RSO and how Turning Point had followed all the steps; they had an advisor, student officers, a constitution, and had signed a non-discrimination clause. Domenic stated that he had alerted higher-ups both when Turning Point applied to be an RSO and when they requested approval for the Pastor Yoo event. However, since they had followed all school policies, nothing could be done to cancel the event and dissolve Pacific’s Turning Point USA chapter.
At the Town Hall Meeting, many students spoke up, not only about their disappointment with Pacific for allowing this event to happen, but also their hurt that something like this could exist on campus. Blandizzi wrote down all the questions students asked, promising to respond at a later date and provide students with answers. While the event was only two hours long, it provided a space for many LGBTQ+ students and allies to voice their concerns.
At the time of publication, the Turning Point event is still scheduled for March 19th, but on that same day the LGBTQ+ Resource Center is holding their annual LGBTQ+ summit called, “There’s More To Us: Centering Trans Narratives, Empowerment & Liberation.” The summit will be held in the Center For Identity and Inclusion (CII) office which is located next to the Janet Leigh Theatre, where Turning Point’s “The Truth About Transgenderism” event will be held.