Isaiah Wong, a Honolulu resident and student at Union Bible College in Indiana who has been caught up with Turning Point USA, or TPUSA, attended an open debate event on the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa campus when it was close to home. 

“I’m not saying I agree with everything that was said… we still have disagreements,” said Wong. 

Founded by Charlie Kirk, TPUSA is a non-profit organization that debates students and others about religious and political topics, visiting college campuses across the U.S. and bringing in supporters and protesters. With the current state of politics, TPUSA has received backlash not just from viewers, but by the national media as well.

After Kirk was killed last September during an event like this one, TPUSA has made sure to emphasize their movement in spreading faith, freedom, and love of the country. TPUSA has a right-leaning political stance, as they were most recently in the news for hosting their own halftime performance in response to the NFL’s selection of Bad Bunny performing the halftime show. 

The turnout from students and others filled the courtyard as there was a mix of supporters, listeners, and counter-protesters. 

But what exactly was TPUSA doing all the way in Honolulu? 

“We brought Nicholas Bowling here today to share the good news of the gospel with students,” said Teagan Miley, president of TPUSA at UH Mānoa. 

Spreading the word of Jesus was talked about throughout the event. Students carried signs stating “Jesus is king,” and others debated Nicholas Bowling, a dedicated evangelist based out of Kentucky whose goal is to spread the love of Jesus and the teachings of the gospel. Through these debates, Bowling has created a big social media presence, with over 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube and over 650,000 followers on Instagram. 

Wong, who has followed and watched TPUSA for a while, said, “But I came to hear the answer to my questions. I also came to see Jesus’ name preached to another campus.” 

As debates between religions started to change to more political topics such as immigration and the current state of politics within the U.S., many students on the sidelines were vocal about the answers given by Bowling, not being afraid to call out free speech and disagreements over immigration. 

It’s not often that there is a big public event like this on UH campus, with around 200 attendees at a time as people are rotating in and out of the event. The way students rallied for and against showed the differences that many have when it comes to politics. 

Mahin Holawani was one of many students who were advocating for viewpoints opposite of what was being spoken by TPUSA.

“I’m here at UH to stand up for the marginalized voices, as an Arab Muslim and a resident here in Hawai‘i, I’ve taken part in a lot of organizing here on campus and the vast majority of students here have asked to be represented by us and not them [TPUSA],” said Holawani.

Prepared with whistles and signs, Holawani and many other students made sure to speak out and let others know that there are multiple sides to the story.

“These people don’t represent the University of Hawai‘i and that has been made very clear. We just want to make sure that their voice is heard and that people know that they don’t agree with the guy [Nicholas Bowling],” Holawani said.