Editor’s note: BNG has learned that Turning Point USA has denied all media credentials requests to their event on campus today. Even the student newspaper, the Baylor Lariat, has been denied access to the event. This a developing story we will continue to update.
All eyes are on Waco, Texas, this Wednesday as competing events are scheduled on campus that pit conservative evangelicalism and Republican politics against progressive Christianity and LGBTQ inclusion.
All eyes except for most Baylor students, that is. The Baylor Lariat, the student newspaper, reported the vast majority of students won’t attend either event but intend to go about their usual Wednesday evening schedules.
On-campus rallies planned by Turning Point USA (“This Is the Turning Point”) and a coalition of more progressive student groups (“All Are Neighbors”) have garnered national and international media attention. That’s largely because the administration’s decision to allow TPUSA on campus sparked a backlash about free speech on a campus where LGBTQ Christians have little public voice.
Amid that blowback, the administration granted first-time permission for the coalition of student groups to host a counter-event that will feature speeches by two gay Christians who are outspoken advocates for inclusion. That, in turn, has sparked reverse backlash from conservatives, including the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which names 25% of the school’s regents but gives little money to the support the university.
And the day before the big events, a change in TPUSA’s lineup threw another wrinkle in the mix that could have long-time implications. Donald Trump Jr., the son of President Donald Trump, was scheduled to speak but has been replaced at the last minute by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Paxton will join Trump Border Czar Tom Homan and right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson onstage in Waco Hall, the largest auditorium on campus.
There’s just one problem with the change, though: Paxton is a current Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, locked in a primary duel with sitting Sen. John Cornyn. And Baylor has a policy of not allowing current political candidates a platform on campus.
According to insider accounts, the administration went along with the Paxton substitution realizing they could be forced to allow equal time to Cornyn and Democratic candidate James Talarico, a Presbyterian minister.
Meanwhile, one of the two speakers for the “All Are Neighbors” rally posted a social media video of him at a local hotel wearing a Baylor jersey with the background music of “I Won’t Back Down.” Paul Raushenbush is executive director of Interfaith Alliance.
Also, BNG has received reports of some Baylor students being told not to attend the “All Are Neighbors” rally for fear of surveillance cameras and people trying to portray their children as gay for being at the event with two gay speakers.
To make room for preparations for the two on-campus events, some classes and even recitals have been rescheduled or moved.
The “All Are Neighbors” event is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday in Cashion Academic Center, a large indoor space that’s part of the Business School campus. The TPUSA event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Waco Hall, site of weekly chapel services and other special events.
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