In recent weeks, the Behrend College Republicans have set up tables in the plaza outside of Bruno's imitating the well known Louder with Crowder’s “Change My Mind” tables. The Behrend College Republicans table “Let’s Talk” presented the claim “The gender wage gap is justified” this past Friday. In the past, the club has presented opinions such as “Kavanaugh is Innocent,” “Socialism Doesn’t Work,” “Allow Concealed Carry On Campus,” and “Keep Syrian Refugees in Syria,” all with the familiar tagline, “Change My Mind!”

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One point of contention the club faced from the student body was the fact that Bailey Rollage, President of the College Republicans, was recently elected to the Student Government Association (SGA) as a senator. He stated that he has been asked several times about his ability to remain dedicated to the students of Behrend while presenting such debates.

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“When I step into the SGA I am bipartisan, that’s what I ran on. Yes, the things I’m doing here are provocative, but I will represent the students. My only partisanship is to the students of Penn State Behrend,” Rollage stated.

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The SGA and Student Life Committee are going to be co-sponsoring a forum in the near future explaining how to conduct a civil debate on campus. SGA President John Jarecki stated that multiple clubs on campus were holding debates in ways that were not benefiting the campus. He also stated that the College Republicans conducted themselves in a manner that demanded some sort of intervention. Jarecki also stated that the goal of the forum, which will be open to the public and moderated by the SGA, will be to bring people together and teach the student body how to conduct debate in a more helpful way. While some student clubs have felt as though this forum has, “pointed a finger at them,” as Jarecki said, he hopes that everyone comes to the event willing to learn.

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“I accept the SGA’s response. We welcome it and we’ll be there in good faith,” Rollage stated with regards to the forum. He said that both the club’s executive board and himself are going to go, seeming confident that they would learn from the forum and be open to any suggestions given. Rollage discussed the club’s goal in holding these debates, and how they pertain to the claims of discourse on campus.

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“We’re trying to foster civil, calm debates,” Rollage stated. Some students on campus believe that the issues being brought up for debate are inflammatory, and in the case of newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, triggering. Rollage defended the actions of his club based on the civility of the debates he had witnessed in the past weeks.

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“Sometimes the issues are inflammatory. Whether it’s Kavanaugh or [Bill Clinton] being a predator, all of our debates on Friday ended with a handshake and a ‘have a good day, if you’re interested in our meetings come out,’” concluded Rollage. He did admit that the topic of the latest debate may have been irresponsible, but explained that there is no policy on misogyny on campus which would prohibit the claim “the wage gap is justified” from being made in a public setting.

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“That sign was made two minutes before it happened. Today we had really great civil discussions, all of our talks ended in civil discussions,” Rollage said. He admitted that there was a rift in the club that made it difficult for them to decide on the wording of the topic, which lead to some arguing between the members. Rollage said that the discussions on the topic were no less civil than others he had had in the past. However, he stated that there had been no more than five or six discussions over the entire day, perhaps showing a decrease in student participation after several weeks, or frustration with the topic up for debate. Rollage stated that, though the discussions were sometimes meant to fluster and draw students in, they are never meant to portray other students in a light which makes them seem less intelligent in the debate.

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“I want to be very clear. We are not editing, we are not shaming. It will be unedited and uncut,” said Rollage. “I feel kinda proud, because if you look at Louder with Crowder they get kind of mean and we’ve had civil discussions here.”

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Some students, such as Daniel Wheeler, took a hard look at campus policy in a response to the club’s actions. Though there are many infractions that he suggested, Rollage maintains that the College Republicans were cleared to hold the event in front of the Reed Union Building. One policy that the club appears to violate highlights Behrend’s commitment to providing an environment free of sexual harassment, or the advertisement of it. However, Rollage defended himself and the club’s actions.

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“[Wheeler] thought we were advertising sexual assault. That’s not true, we have zero tolerance for sexual assault,” Rollage stated. There has been no attempt by the administration to remove College Republican events from campus.

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Students who were not as inclined to find policy violations did beg the question of whether or not debating these controversial issues was responsible. Some students claimed that themselves or friends had been triggered by trauma surrounding sexual assault or harassment by the debate surrounding Justice Kavanaugh. Similarly, Wheeler also suggested in passing that the statement “Keep Syrian Refugees In Syria” violated policy on hate speech. Rollage stated that many of the individuals who approached their event were supporters of the claims presented.

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However, some of the statements that drew students to the debate were somewhat misleading. Though the original statement read “Keep Syrian Refugees In Syria,” the debate soon became whether or not Syrian refugees would be better off in Syrian safe zones protected by the U.S. military and being able to “keep their culture,” or coming to the United States, only to eventually return to a war-torn country and making the American justice system accommodate cultural norms in the meantime.

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Rollage and his Vice President Christian Brooks were adamant that events like the “Change My Mind” tables help keep their club active. After the latest election, he said, the relatively busy club hit a lull. The past several weeks have drawn in 12 new members and $40 in funding, giving the College Republicans more acknowledgment of their actions on campus in the future. Rollage said that the club has plans to invite Steven Crowder to Behrend to foster a similar discussion.

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Members maintained that their club fostered healthy discussions with students, however, there was some divide in the public’s perception. Outcry and action by the administration may influence the future of the club’s actions on campus, but it seems as though the events will certainly continue into the immediate future.