Is one of the country’s most notable young conservatives speaking at FAU this week?

FAU’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization geared toward college students, announced last month that the group’s founder Charlie Kirk would speak at FAU on Feb. 6. But the announcement made via Instagram was deleted soon after. What happened?

Charlie Kirk speaking with attendees at the 2018 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr

Kristen Grau, Editor in Chief
February 4, 2020

Charlie Kirk, the 26-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, a national conservative organization, has spoken at the Republican National Convention and on Fox News. And on Thursday, he might speak at FAU.

FAU’s Turning Point chapter announced the event through an Instagram post last month — but it’s been deleted. The University Press reached out to the chapter president, vice president, and treasurer multiple times via email and social media, but has not received a response as of publication time.

Joana Peana, a member of the chapter, told the University Press that the event was still in the works — but couldn’t confirm the Feb. 6 date.

The Instagram post FAU’s Turning Point USA chapter made last month announcing TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk would be on campus. The post has since been deleted.

When asked if Kirk was speaking at FAU on Thursday, Peana said, “I don’t have a definitive answer — we’re still working out the kinks.” The “kinks,” she said, were factors like venue, attendance numbers and time. 

Peana added the Instagram post was taken down to “avoid confusion.”

Kirk is known for founding Turning Point USA, a conservative advocacy group that has chapters across 1,200 campuses, according to its website. Kirk is often met with protests during college visits; surrounding outlets around the country reported protests at North Carolina State University, University of Nevada Reno and the University of Florida.  

The UP also reached out to Marshall DeRosa, a political science professor and FAU Turning Point’s faculty adviser, who said he’s unaware if or when Kirk is coming to campus. 

“I’m out of the information loop on this one,” he said.

In 2016, FAU almost hosted Milo Yiannopoulos, another high-profile young conservative speaker. However, the event was cancelled because of threats — and an FBI investigation followed, the University Press previously reported. 

The UP reached out to Turning Point’s national office to confirm if Kirk was coming, but has not received a response. Kirk’s personal website doesn’t list any upcoming events. The event is not listed on Owl Central, the database where all registered student organizations must request and register their events.

Kirk spoke at the University of Florida last November and is scheduled to speak at Florida State University on March 10 as part of his “Culture War” tour.

Kristen Grau is the editor-in-chief of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet her at @_kristengrau.