By Madison Ceja
The Ramspondents
CSU has been a place for expression and a hotspot for public speakers to come and share their personal testaments or research.
But not everyone is always happy with the things guest speakers have to say. CSU students and Fort Collins residents have shown up to protest various speakers while others have supported such speech.
The issue came up again earlier this fall when the CSU chapter of Turning Point USA invited Charlie Kirk to campus as part of his American Comeback Tour 2025. Kirk was shot and killed on the first stop of his tour on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. CSU was to be the second stop on the tour the next week; supporters held a memorial for him instead at Canvas Stadium.
Kirk, a conservative political activist and podcaster, was known for sharing his beliefs on anti-abortion rights, the right to own guns, and other conservative issues. He had also in the past made homophobic and racist comments, which prompted protests at his events and opposition to his appearing on campus at all.
This raises the question of how guest speakers get booked to appear at CSU. And as it turns out, a speaker can be invited to campus by any number of groups.
Nik Olsen, a university spokesperson who specializes in crisis communication and public information, said that a public university like CSU is not really able to tell someone that they can’t come and exercise their freedom of speech. All that you can truly do is tell them the place, times, and what the university can do to ensure safety.
This also applies to the heart of campus, the Lory Student Center and the Plaza. The Plaza is a free speech zone, which means anyone of all ages and all races can come and speak freely. It creates a space for expression, Olsen said, that is protected by the First Amendment.
Anyone can be brought to campus regardless of ideology. As long as the dates, times, and locations go through the CSU crisis communication and public relations team, any speaker can be brought to campus.
Madison Ceja is a sophomore at Colorado State University studying journalism with a minor in hospitality. She is a second generation Mexican with a passion for social media and public relations and experience in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Madison is also an employee at RamVision and works with broadcasting.