Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk visited the Memorial Union quad to debate Oregon State University students on Friday afternoon as a part of his college tour.
Kirk is a right-wing political activist, author and radio host, largely recognized for his viral moments. Most recently, he went viral for debating 20 college students in a YouTube video produced by Jubilee.
OSU was one of his many stops along his fall 2024 college tour, called the “You’re Being Brainwashed Tour.”
“We call it ‘You’re Being Brainwashed,’ because nobody really thinks anymore. They just are told what to think,” said Rilie Anderton, a local Turning Point USA representative.
Kirk is the founder of TPUSA, a student-centered conservative organization, with numerous club chapters at colleges across the country. Wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats, OSU TPUSA members distributed event flyers throughout the crowd and encouraged attendees to register to vote.
On arrival, Kirk was ushered in from the west side of the quad by a team of security guards. Kirk entered a blue pop-up tent in the middle of the quad and began tossing several MAGA hats to cheering fans.
The event took on a question-and-answer debate format, where audience members lined up behind a microphone to pose a question. Kirk addressed topics like abortion, religion, LGBTQ+ rights and the upcoming presidential election.
Chief of Police Shanon Anderson said the crowd fluctuated throughout the day, but estimated that about 350 people were in attendance at one time. The attendees consisted of students, faculty and members of the public.
Vipin Arora, a senior instructor in the College of Business, attended the event in hopes of seeing Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate who challenged Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican Primaries. To Arora’s disappointment, Ramaswamy did not make an appearance.
“It’s a good thing that we have debates like this,” said Arora. “We get to know opinions from many different types of people.”
Kaitlynn Donald traveled all the way from Kelso, Washington with her two young children, ages three and six. Donald said that she and her children are fans of Kirk and watch him on YouTube.
Witnesses reported that the crowd was civil, despite the occasional objection from a passerby.
While on his way to visit his girlfriend in the MU, local business owner Greg Meyer urged the crowd to not give Kirk any attention.
“Their whole angle is basically to try to get people who are really passionate, but maybe not the most eloquent about really divisive topics,” said Meyer. “Then they edit it to make them (look) even stupider.”
Friendly counter-protests emerged during the event. Pastor Rob Kirby, the executive director of WestM, a campus ministry, was handing out free otter pops beside a sign reading “Taste the Rainbow: Otter Pops for LGBTQ & Allies.”
Siena Buchanan, a third-year biology major, passed out Bingo cards with boxes like “communism bad!” “woke,” and “deep state” to be checked off upon hearing the phrase or talking point.
Buchanan explained that she counter-protests “in a way that is lightening the mood and bringing more joy to people’s day, instead of just bringing people down.”
– Photographer Taya Etzell contributed to this story
