Protest unfolds on University of Pacific campus outside conservative event
STOCKTON – There was controversy outside of a conservative political event held on the University of the Pacific campus on Wednesday where protestors clashed with campus police.
The event, "The Truth About Transgenderism," featured Pastor Junsun Yoo who spoke about trans issues, was hosted by the UOP chapter of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses.
A group of students and the San Joaquin County Pride Center called on the university to cancel the event calling it an "Anti-Trans" event.
In a statement to CBS13, a university spokesperson confirmed the event was not university-sanctioned, but instead, a registered student organization event. As such, the university only provided the event space and audio/visual capabilities, but no other university funds.
Turning Point event attendees were required to register before the event for access inside the theater. Protestors were set up by 6 p.m., ahead of the 6:30 p.m. start time, with signs in support of trans rights.
A designated area to protest was set up with fencing outside of the theater, however, some protestors opted to stand on the grass outside of the gate barricades. In their attempts to move the 120 protestors, campus police responded by pushing back on protestors and attempting to remove a large sign being held by protestors.
In total, a university spokesperson confirmed to CBS13 that there were 139 reported attendees. However, not all of those attendees were in support of the speaker's message. CBS13 witnessed multiple exchanges during the question and answer portion of the event where speakers were not in support of the event messaging.
At one point, power went out inside the venue cutting audio and some of the lights. The Q&A portion of the event continued, without microphones, until power was restored a few minutes later.
UOP's spokesperson told CBS13 the university is investigating the cause of the power outage.
At the same time, across campus, the LGBTQ+ Summit "There's More to Us," was held. This was hosted by UOP's Center for Identity and Inclusion. There were 150 people who attended including students, staff and faculty.
"Sometimes when things like this come up people need somewhere to go, so we are providing that space for them through this event and the center in general," said Yvette Quintana, the assistant director of the center.
The summit was an event that students had been requesting, according to Quintana, but with the TPUSA event on the calendar, she said they fast-tracked planning for the same day.
In a statement shared after the event, the university shared, "The community successfully engaged in dialog, and we are proud of our community and our students for tackling difficult issues."
