The University of Maine’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter held a debate on the Mall on Thursday, Oct. 8 as part of their “Pick Up the Mic” initiative. The event featured Savannah Craven as speaker and encouraged students to ask questions and participate in a discussion. The event drew a large crowd and officers from the University of Maine Police Department (UMPD) were on standby throughout the debate.
Molly Curtis, a third year nursing student and president of UMaine’s TPUSA chapter, expanded on the purpose and results of the event.
“I think the point of a ‘prove me wrong’ [TPUSA’s slogan] is more to bridge the gap [between ideas],” said Curtis. “I think it went exactly like we wanted it to go. You know, a lot of people asking questions, and the discussion was very rich.”
Curtis said that topics of discussion ranged from abortion to immigration.
Payton Warren, a third year finance and management student and president of UMaine College Republicans, stated that abortion was the primary topic of conversation because of a viral clip of Craven being hit by another woman during a street interview on the topic. Curtis added that the discussion mostly remained civil with the exception of a few minor incidents.
“Some people did a little drive-by, flip off or cuss word, but other than that, nobody came up and was obscene,” said Curtis.
“There was a few people yelling,” said Warren. “People just walked by and yelled and then left.”
Other students interviewed by the Maine Campus commented on the event’s reception. Jessica Murphy, a first year biology student, and Matthew Cooper, a fourth year wildlife ecology and marine science student, stated that they were unable to hear the speaker at times due to obscene language being shouted at her.
“There were people behind me calling the speaker slurs,” said Murphy. “You can disagree with someone but still not want to harm them.”
“I was next to people who were holding signs and making comments and jeering, and not overall saying very nice things,” said Cooper. “I did hear people saying slurs about her [Craven] and saying things like, ‘how can you as an xyz say these things?’ They’re using identity politics. I don’t think that’s okay.”
Murphy stated that she had intended to talk to Craven during the debate, but wound up being in line behind the last person allowed to participate.
“I was gonna ask if a ten year old got raped and needed an abortion, what would you do in that situation, because it seems cruel to have them deliver the baby,” said Murphy. “I knew she was gonna say that she would make them deliver the baby, but what would she do to support the ten year old? Because that just seems like an extremely traumatic experience.”
Menelik Mekonen, a graduate student studying math, explained that the audience may have had a difficult time hearing Craven because the microphone was turned off part way through the event.
“The speakers were originally on earlier on, but I think students in nearby classrooms were complaining about the noise so they had to turn off the speakers, and so most people weren’t even sure what was being discussed,” said Mekonen.
Warren confirmed Mekonen’s explanation about why the speakers were turned off.
Mekonen stated that he had been able to participate in the debate, but had been cut off abruptly. He was also concerned about the level of transparency TPUSA would convey in their video footage.
“The footage isn’t going to be fully publicly available, it’s gonna be clipped up and chopped into bits,” said Mekonen. He added that much of what Craven said seemed to be designed for social media content rather than discussion at the debate itself. “I’m interested to see how the final product is going to come out.”
Craven declined to comment.
