On Wednesday night, student groups at Baylor University presented two contrasting events: Turning Point USA’s College Tour and “All Are Neighbors.” The TPUSA event, sponsored by Baylor’s TPUSA student chapter, featured prominent conservative speakers and government leaders. “All Are Neighbors,” sponsored by a coalition of student groups, featured an interfaith slate of students and LGBTQ+ faith leaders.
I spent the day on the Baylor campus and attended the All Are Neighbors event as a guest, not a journalist. Several media organizations, including Baptist News Global and the Waco Bridge, have provided excellent reporting on both events. So rather than a complete rundown, I’d like to offer three of my impressions from the day.
Baylor Deserves Criticism and Credit
After Turning Point USA (TPUSA) announced Baylor would be a stop on its college tour, the university received a wave of backlash from its progressive students, faculty and alumni. Charlie Kirk founded TPUSA shortly after he dropped out of college, and much of the organization’s mission centers on countering what it perceives as radical-left takeovers of higher education—including at relatively conservative universities such as Baylor. Given this and the fact that TPUSA has become a de facto Political Action Committee for Donald Trump, their presence was destined to be a disaster.
By all accounts, the TPUSA-Baylor relationship in putting on the event was a challenge for both organizations. It became especially so after Donald Trump Jr. pulled out of the event and was replaced by Ken Paxton, a Republican who is currently in a run-off election battle against John Cornyn for Cornyn’s U.S. Senate seat.
Aside from the fact that Paxton is arguably the most brazenly corrupt politician in the country, the switch became a dilemma for Baylor. The university has a longstanding policy of not allowing political candidates to speak on campus, to avoid having to invite other candidates to meet the requirements of a non-profit organization. Sources have confirmed that this sent both organizations scrambling for an alternative off-campus space before settling on keeping the event at Baylor’s Waco Hall.
Additionally, confusion about who could attend the event and lower-than-expected student interest spurred a last-minute change that limited attendance to students only.
Before the night even started, TPUSA was blaming Baylor for all the challenges, accusing the university of “sabotaging” the event. Baylor responded by sharing details of the agreed-upon arrangements for the event.
Given that TPUSA occupies a prominent space in a movement steeped in misinformation and takes its cues from a President whose core belief is never to take responsibility for mistakes, it isn’t difficult to determine who is being more honest. Although Baylor, like most large institutions, has a history of sidestepping accountability by issuing measured, cautious and evasive statements, its policies for student events are nonetheless available to the public. So it isn’t difficult to see that TPUSA, which largely managed the event through its national organization rather than its Baylor student chapter, is largely responsible for the foibles.
However, it is difficult to have much sympathy for Baylor over the false accusations being hurled against it by TPUSA. When you invite an organization onto campus whose mission is to divide, you invite chaos. It was never not going to be like this. TPUSA was always going to bring shame to the university.
Even so, the Baylor administration deserves credit for the actions it took in the weeks after the TPUSA event was announced.
First, amid calls from stakeholders and publications (including this one) to invite more inclusive, progressive activists on campus to help balance the scales, Baylor responded positively by accepting applications from several student groups to host the All Are Neighbors event. Additionally, after the announcement that Paxton would be replacing Trump Jr., and (presumably) an off-campus location couldn’t be obtained, Baylor was swift to issue a statement to the student newspaper that other candidates would be allowed at a future date.
For some, these actions may seem small and simply following policy and protocol. But they should not be dismissed. The heat Baylor will receive from some of its key stakeholders will be significant. In light of our current cultural moment, in which the loudest and cruelest voices reign, even small acts of courage should be celebrated.
We Treat College Students as Pawns
I spent Wednesday morning walking around the Baylor campus, getting an off-the-record pulse from students on how tuned in they were with both events. About half of my conversations took place in the Student Union Building, the other half in the business school. I asked over two dozen undergraduates whether they were aware of either or both events and whether they planned to attend.
Most of those I spoke with were at least somewhat aware of both events, but only three planned on attending either. Two of those who planned on attending (one for each event) said they were going because they were curious. Only one—a student attending the TPUSA event—was excited about going.
Almost everyone I spoke with cited other obligations or a lack of interest in why they weren’t going. Notably, a small handful of the students told me that their parents were worried about their attendance at either event.
One student told me he was against both events because he felt they were organized by adults trying to pull young people into their battles with one another.
My conversations highlighted the reality that university campuses often become proxy locations for our culture wars, and we recruit students as toy soldiers in those battles, hoping they will eventually become true believers. But this generation seems less inclined to play along than previous generations.
Progress is Possible
Pastors often tell a joke when they are asked when they are going to implement something that should have been implemented years ago: “Well, I’ve got a few more funerals to do before I can turn my attention to that.”
There is a sense among many in the Baylor community that this is the current stance of the administration with regard to issues such as LGBTQ+ inclusion. In the 15 months since Donald Trump was inaugurated and began to wage war against higher education, Baylor, like many other institutions without a Harvard-level endowment, has tried to dodge the arrows by lying low to avoid detection of progress that could be labeled “woke,” regardless of how virtuous that progress may be.
On the one hand, I understand this. Although I am theologically, politically and socially progressive, I am more moderate in temperament. I understand the need not to get too far ahead of people and to build coalitions of understanding and trust before making significant changes.
On the other hand, it is the Year of Our Lord, 2026. (When I say this out loud to people, I usually insert the grandaddy of all expletives before “2026.”)
Also, those holding Baylor back from being a more inclusive space for all people are not 90-year-old curmudgeonly donors on their deathbeds. Rather, they are Gen X and Boomer evangelicals who believe their privileged status in the Baylor “family” would be at risk if there were any allowance for more expansive, inclusive expressions of the Christian faith.
Frustration with the lack of progress has led many to want to “burn it all down” and sever any ties they have with Baylor. Others are still sticking with it, clinging to the power of hope. Both are legitimate impulses—prophetic and priestly.
Yet at the All Are Neighbors event, hope had the upper hand over hate. Christian students and LGBTQ+ advocates shared their stories of following Jesus into a world of justice and mercy. Muslim students shared their faith, which includes honoring Jesus as a prophet. All on stage expressed a conviction that all are neighbors, and all are welcome, including those at the TPUSA event off campus.
It was a powerful reminder that progress is possible.
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Senior Editor at Good Faith Media.