By LINCOLN MYERS
Tiger Media Network
Fort Hays State University’s chapter of Turning Point USA hosted “Hot Takes: A Night of Open Dialogue and Productive Discussion” on Tuesday night in FHSU’s Cody Commons. The event featured free pizza, open mic discussions, and a focus on respectful political dialogue among students and community members.
The event also commemorated the birthday of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA.
Tyler Preisser, president of the organization, said the goal was to give students a space to speak freely about national and cultural topics in a respectful environment.
“The main inspiration for a Hot Takes night was just to provide an open environment and platform for people to share their ideas or concerns on the current state of our country,” Preisser said. “With a side benefit being humanizing each other and seeing each other as fellow neighbors with a difference of opinion rather than hating one another.”
Preisser said the event reflected the group’s goal of helping students think critically and approach issues from multiple perspectives.
“This event is a pure reflection of our goal here at Fort Hays, which is to encourage students to build discernment and think for themselves,” Preisser said. “Events like this encourage us to see life from other people’s perspectives and to do research out of curiosity rather than to validate our own pre-existing opinions.”
The group chose Cody Commons for the event because it offered an open atmosphere and accessibility for students passing through the Memorial Union.
“It gives us the opportunity to rub off a little bit on students that are walking by and maybe gain some interest in that way,” Preisser said. “The equipment and facility with microphones also make it a good fit.”
Preisser said the discussion was well attended and included students from across the political spectrum as well as several community members.
“We were very grateful to have knowledgeable members in the audience from the Hays community who were able to offer valuable perspective and insight,” Preisser said.
He said creating an environment where people felt comfortable sharing their opinions was key to keeping discussions respectful.
“When you create an environment where people feel open to share what they believe and they don’t feel like they’re going to be attacked for it, they also don’t feel like they have to be defensive,” Preisser said. “If disagreements happen, our leadership steps in to remind everyone that we don’t condone emotional immaturity, hatred, or violence.”
For many students, the event offered an opportunity to listen, learn, and engage in meaningful conversation.
FHSU student Aiden Wertz said he attended because he supports the organization’s values but also wanted to better understand opposing viewpoints.
“One of the reasons I was interested in going is because I support the ideology that TPUSA stands for, particularly its emphasis on traditional family values and Christian faith,” Wertz said. “I also wanted to hear and understand different ideologies and use that as an opportunity to reflect on why I believe what I do.”
Wertz said that reflecting on one’s beliefs is important for everyone, regardless of their faith or background.
“I believe that whatever faith you follow, it’s important to reflect on the lens through which you see the world,” he said. “You should ask yourself, ‘Why do I believe this way?’ and be confident and strong in standing up for your faith.”
Another student, Andrew Waller, said the debate-style format encouraged healthy discussion.
“I heard about how they wanted to make it a debate and conversation-style event, and that sounded interesting to me,” Waller said. “Students need to be engaged in conversations like these so that they can learn how to have good, respectful arguments.”
Waller said the event showed that disagreement can lead to understanding instead of division.
“The more respectful our conversations are, the less of a divide we will have,” Waller said. “One member of the left posed a good question to a mainly right crowd, and I’m sure it sparked lots of good conversations even after the event was over.”
Preisser said the event was also meant to show that FHSU students can model positive dialogue even on controversial issues.
“Our hope as a takeaway from this event was first to show the community that there are good students who stand up for what is right at Fort Hays,” Preisser said. “We also wanted to give students a chance to see what respectful disagreement can look like.”
He said Turning Point USA plans to continue hosting events that bring students together for open discussion.
“Through events like this, we hope to get people excited and show that Fort Hays is a place for all students,” Preisser said. “Often, colleges are associated with one political side, but showing that we have a strong presence here demonstrates that FHSU is a place for everyone.”