Matt Walsh presented an altered and simpler version of his speech, ‘The War on Reality: Why the Left has set out to redefine Life, Gender and Marriage’ on April 9, because of the online controversy that emerged after the event was announced.
In the weeks leading up to his presence on campus, several different petitions were created to encourage Baylor to stop the speech from happening as well as others counteracting their efforts. Also, some students tore down flyers advertising the speech that were authorized by Baylor students activities.
Walsh is a Christian columnist for The Daily Wire as well as a speaker and author, who is has been called a bureaucratic fascist by the media.
Attendees lined up outside the doors of McClinton Auditorium in the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. Some sporting ‘Make America Great Again’ caps while others were still dressed for the Diadeloso festivities earlier that day.
Members of the Baylor Young Americans for Freedom, who invited him to campus and hosted the event, greeted students, faculty and Waco residents as they filled up the auditorium for the speech that began at 7 p.m.
Fort Worth sophomore Zachary Miller, the chairman of the Baylor Young Americans for Freedom, thanked everyone that helped make the event happen before introducing Matt Walsh.
“I’d like to to thank the university for not giving into the pressure and cancelling this speech,” Miller said, followed by a round of applause.
Walsh promptly asked if anyone in the audience disagreed with his views and if they would raise their hand; no one raised their hands in response.
“Whether you’re in opposition or in favor, [or] neutral, I thank you sincerely for making all this commotion worth it by actually showing up,” Walsh said.
Before speaking about the battle over life, marriage and gender, he spoke about critical thinking in light of the controversy surrounding his speech.
“If we won’t think for ourselves, if we will not entertain thought then we waste our lives,” Walsh said, “Someone who dies without ever really taking the time to develop his own ideas about things has squandered existence. His life was a waste, and we don’t want that to happen to us.”
Walsh broke down his discussion into three subjects: abortion, marriage and gender. He specifically spoke about what is fundamentally wrong with gay marriage and transgender people.
“[I’m going] to try to explain why I believe that abortion is evil, why I believe that biological sex is unchangeable, and therefore transgenderism is a myth and a superstition and why marriage has a particular definition, that no matter what the law says and the supreme court says, excludes gay couples,” Walsh said.
After the speech, they opened up the floor to the audience for a Question and Answer session.
However, the session was cut short due to the time limit and students like Houston junior Iman Dawson were unable to ask their questions.
“My whole point of coming out here tonight, was I was hoping asked a couple of [questions] where I can at least try to educate them, or try to show them the other points of views,” Dawson said.
The Baylor Young Americans for Freedom has a policy where they allow attendants who disagree with the speakers position to cut into the front of the line.
