On March 19, protesters gathered in rainbow masks and colorful signs at the University of Pacific campus at the Long Theater to rally against an event called “The Truth About Transgenderism,” hosted by the school’s chapter of the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA.
The Turning Point event drew a crowd of 139, according to a press release from Pacific directly after the event. Approximately 120 protesters demonstrated outside.
Although the gathering remained peaceful, some protesters attempted to move past a barrier and get closer to the theater doors. Police said the protesters must remain behind the barriers or they would be cited for trespassing on private property.
Police did allow protesters to remain on the theater lawn that had no barricades.
At one point during Yoo’s speech inside the Long Theater, power and amplified sound was lost for approximately 8 minutes. The event continued and power was quickly restored. The cause of the outage is under investigation.
Pastor Junsun Yoo hosted the event, which would “shed light on the truth about transgenderism and other LGBT-related topics,” according to a flyer promoting it.
Yoo spoke about his beliefs that gender transition processes should not “be available to those under the age of 18 without consent.”
The Turning Point event coincided with an LGBTQ+ summit titled “There’s More to Us,’” held on the opposite side of campus at the Center for Identity and Inclusion. More than 150 people attended the summit, according to a press release from the university directly after the end of the event.
Protesters remained outside the Long Theater during the Turning Point event and for a small time afterwards yelling their chants such as, “No Trump. No KKK. No TPUSA.” They also handed out pamphlets on information collected about Turning Point USA and the members that are involved as well as past speakers.
Delta students were present as well. ASDC Vice President Layla Alaswald was there from the beginning.
“These ideas should never be here, especially in Stockton, or allowed on a college campus where people can be harmed,” said Alaswald, “These ideas are not just ideas, ideas lead to action and action leads to hate crimes.”
The protests began to gather in front of the theater before the event started holding signs and shouting chants to all those who entered and attended.
Delta student Jenessa Franco was a prominent speaker during the protests leading chants for the group and spreading awareness of transgender rights as attendees walked in.
“We are here to just say we exist, and that they can’t spread their lies anymore…These people believe in eradicating transgender people,” said Franco.
Franco said she was there to promote that events like these should not be held on educational campuses and that the LGBTQ+ community in schools need to “feel a part of a community and that they belong here.”
The event was originally announced in February, with many people speaking out about Pacific’s involvement with allowing a controversial topic to be discussed on the campus that promotes diversity and inclusion.
The college released a statement about the event on Feb. 20 stating, “It is important to know that this event is not a university sanctioned event. This is a registered student organization event. As with all registered student organizations who invite speakers or host events, the university provides event space and audio/visual capabilities. No other university funds are allocated.”
The release also said that the college will uphold the constitutional concept of freedom of expression, “even speech we do not agree with. Simultaneously, we remain steadfast in our commitment to fostering an environment that upholds our core values of inclusion and respect where all can thrive. Understanding these principles, Pacific does not prevent recognized student organizations from inviting speakers to campus, even when the speakers espouse views that are antithetical to many of our understandings of how to best honor human dignity.”
