The #WalkAway Foundation, a Democratic Party opposition group, held a campus tabling event at the UCI flagpoles on April 22 as a part of its American Restoration Tour. Students were invited to participate in a public debate against members of the foundation to discuss current hot-button topics.
The table, surrounded by signs displaying politically charged statements such as “Stop transing kids,” “Democrats are the real fascists” and “Do Black lives really matter?” featured #WalkAway Campaign founder Brandon Straka, social media personality Natalie Beisner and YouTubers Vanessa “Gothix” Rosa and Mike Harlow.
The foundation’s American Restoration Tour is promoted as a way to “engage with the next generation of voters” by encouraging dialogue across the political aisle and raising a “call to action for young Americans who are ready to challenge the status quo and walk away from the Left.”
The foundation began as the #WalkAway Campaign in 2018 after Straka, a self-proclaimed former liberal, posted a video detailing his reasons for leaving the Democratic Party. Straka was arrested on a federal warrant related to events at the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack and pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly and disruptive conduct on Sep. 14, 2021. On Jan. 20, 2025, Straka posted that he was granted a full pardon by President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, the conversations strayed away from the tour’s listed discussion topics, which are advertised as “real issues that matter to college students and Californians alike, including student loan debt, the economy and job opportunities, key issues facing California and how young voters can make a difference.” The hosts focused on police brutality, race and immigration, according to student attendees.
“[They] talked about whether police brutality was actually an issue or not? [They] talked about whether Black people are oppressed,” second-year criminology, law and society major Laila Abdulla told New University. “Students tried to bring up issues of systemic racism, and to which they were like, ‘Just move on, it’s in the past, we need to move on as a society.’ [They] talked about deportations going on, and you know, all students [were] just yelling ‘Due process!’ and they [were] just sitting there kind of saying, ‘If you get your papers, just don’t be an illegal citizen.’”
In a statement from UCI’s Black Student Union released on April 24, BSU leadership demanded “immediate institutional accountability” and wrote that they will “be formally following up with Student Center and Event Services to challenge both the interpretation and application” of the event’s allowance.
According to Student Center and Events Services Senior Events Manager Erin Robertson, the hosts were allowed to occupy the unreserved Ring Mall space without an event registration due to the tabling event’s designation as a free-speech activity, provided compliance with the Time, Place and Manner Policy. UCI’s Policy on Use and Scheduling of UC Irvine Properties is “content neutral due to UCI’s commitment to principles of free speech and academic freedom,” Robertson wrote in an email to New University.
The Associated Students of UC Irvine (ASUCI) posted a Statement of Government on April 24 condemning the debate hosts’ behavior on campus and reiterating their commitment to cultivating a safe campus for all students.
“The disruption of constructive dialogue and spread of negative biases are detrimental to the success of students in the community and discourages student engagement with the campus.” ASUCI wrote. “All students belong on our campus, and ASUCI strives to maintain and improve upon the welfare of all students on campus.”
The crowd speculated that the hosts had lowered or turned off the microphone audio for the audience participants. New University was able to confirm that the mic volume of audience members was disproportionately unclear compared to the mic volume of the hosts.
Third-year physics major Bryan Nnadi stepped up to the mic and debated the hosts.
“I think college is a good place for people to have debate, but I don’t think they should necessarily be in control of all the things,” Nnadi told New University. “They’re cutting the mic off, they’re muting the mics and they’re talking over. They [were] pigeonholing me to different things. I think maybe a more controlled setting would be more beneficial to the student base and to people that are watching.”
Nnadi also said he wanted to discuss other topics with the panel but felt “bogged down” when bringing up the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Beisner said she does not pretend to believe that she will change someone’s mind on everything during these campus debates but values conversations where differing ideas are presented.
“For me, I like to do these events because I wish I’d woken up sooner and walked away sooner,” Beisner told New University. “And so I like to speak to college kids because you guys have your whole lives ahead of you, and you know, we’re not going to agree on everything, but I think a lot of people believe things that are not necessarily true.”
After four hours of debate, and tables and signs were packed away, many students stayed behind. Some continued conversations with the opposing debaters while others congratulated the #WalkAway team members and snapped a selfie with them.
The hosts held a panel discussion in Social Science Lab room 206 that same evening, where they shared their individual stories and offered a Q&A.
Annia Pallares zur Nieden is a Features Staff Writer. She can be reached at anniap@uci.edu.
Edited by Jaheem Conley.