By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
Few things stir debate on college campuses like politics—and at CMU, a student group’s whiteboard polls have done just that. Turning Point USA’s Colorado Mesa University chapter (TPUSA CMU) has sparked discussion after posting a series of provocative whiteboard poll questions in the university’s cafeteria.
Some students view the questions as open discussion starters, while others see them as hate speech meant to provoke.
“Some of the questions pertaining to immigrants and other situations going on, you have to understand a lot of people are going through this personally,” CMU student Welam Agamba told KKCO 11 News.
Founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012, TPUSA is known for challenging anti-American perspectives on college campuses across the nation.
Jason Bias, an undergraduate at CMU majoring in political science, helped start the TPUSA CMU chapter, which advocates free markets, limited government and free speech.
Bias, now the TPUSA CMU president, has been a vocal presence on campus, expanding TPUSA’s outreach efforts and engaging in tabling events to promote conservative ideas.
He views life differently compared to when he was a first-year student. “When I turned 17, I originally went to CMU right after high school. I was really excited. I was studying a little bit, but I was also partying really hard. And I met my wife during that time. When she got pregnant, I realized, OK, this is no longer the time to study,” Bias shared.
Bias faced the reality shaped by his decisions. “It’s time to get a job, get a house, buckle up and be a man leading as Christ would want [me] to, right? Men are not only supposed to be the providers, but also the spiritual leaders in their home. So I took a break from school and started working as an apprentice electrician,” he added.
After moving into solar work, he fell off a roof, breaking both wrists. With his wife pregnant with their third child and a newly purchased home, he found himself in full-arm casts, unable to work.
It was a tough time, but then an email from CMU changed everything. As a homeowner and father, he qualified for federal grants. Suddenly, finishing college was within reach—not just for him, but for his children.
When he returned to his college studies, Bias saw TPUSA as a way to introduce viewpoints he felt were missing from campus discourse.
TPUSA CMU regularly posts rotating poll questions on a cafeteria whiteboard. Some of the questions, also posted on the group’s Instagram account, included:
- Can men become women?
- Should free speech protect hate speech?
- Are some cultures better than others?
- Should there be any restrictions on abortion?
- Should we abolish income taxes?
“Originally, when I started getting content and all the materials from Turning Point, some of them on the back had polls like ‘Do you support open borders?’ And I was like, wow, what a great way to spark conversation in the school, right?” Bias added, “A lot of people, they may be interested in our tabling, but they’re not going to stop by and chat with us unless they see something controversial like that.”
Bias argued that the whiteboard polls serve an important function: challenging students to defend their viewpoints.
“A lot of people don’t know how to defend their beliefs. When we put up a question like ‘Should free speech protect hate speech?’ people will say ‘No, obviously not.’ But when we ask them to explain why or define what ‘hate speech’ is, they stumble. They get frustrated. Because they’re repeating things they’ve heard, but they haven’t thought about it critically. That’s what these whiteboard polls are doing—forcing people to actually engage and defend their own ideas.”
One of the most heated debates happened over a question about constitutional rights.
“It’s shocking how many students think their opinions are facts,” he said. “We had one guy get really upset because he thought the Constitution guarantees the right to healthcare. I asked him where in the Constitution it says that, and he just got mad and walked away. That’s a problem. College is supposed to be about learning, about challenging ideas—not just parroting what others say.”
Amid claims of hate speech, Bias insists that conservative perspectives are wrongly vilified. “I would argue that anything that causes debate, the left is going to call hate speech,” Bias said.
Bias defends free speech as a key constitutional principle. “The Constitution is the best political document ever written in any country. Period. It protects our rights as individuals, it lays out a system of government that prevents tyranny, and it ensures that no matter how unpopular your opinion is, you have the right to express it.”
Silencing speech in response to emotional reactions, Bias argues, sets the stage for widespread censorship.
“If we start policing speech, who gets to decide what’s acceptable and what isn’t? Right now, we have students on this campus who think asking a question like ‘Are some cultures better than others?’ is inherently hateful. But what if that same standard gets applied to them? What if one day, their opinion becomes the ‘wrong’ opinion? Once you open the door to restricting free speech, it never stops.”
As of publication, CMU administration and the faculty advisor for TPUSA CMU has not responded to Rocky Mountain Voice’s request for comment. The regional director for TPUSA indicated that a statement is forthcoming.
Jason Bias serves as an ambassador for Rocky Mountain Voice. He is also the president of Turning Point USA CMU and was elected in March to serve as the First Vice Chair for the Mesa County Republican Party.