EAGLE, Idaho — Editor's note -- KTVB is continuing to follow up with students and parents regarding this story. Check back for updates.
Students from Eagle High School pushed back at guest speaker Boise State Professor Scott Yenor during their Thursday school lunch hour for talking about "the effect that feminism has had on our society."
Yenor is a controversial figure in the Treasure Valley -- he has previously received criticism for calling women, "more medicated, meddlesome, and quarrelsome" than they "need to be" and saying "more successful men will mean more happy citizenry and a stronger nation." Yenor said, during a National Conservatism Conference in Orlando, Florida, in 2021 -- that society needs to prepare women to become mothers, not to want careers.
Yenor, a political science professor, also consistently retweets far-right blogs criticizing LGBTQ+ people, women and sex education.
Yenor was invited by the TurningPointUSA group formed by students at Eagle High School on Thursday to speak about feminism during their lunch hour. TurningPoint USA is an organization founded by Charlie Kirk that encourages conservative activism among younger generations. Their website includes anti-trans rhetoric, among other articles about "leftist hypocrisy" and how the "LGBTQ Nation is coming for our children."
Opposing students told KTVB in an email they organized a walk-out in protest. Some spoke to Yenor from the audience, criticizing his comments. When the students walked out, they were met with boos and yelling from other students, according to videos of the event posted online.
One student who was in attendance told KTVB via email that the students in support of Yenor were "telling us to get back in the kitchen."
KTVB reached out to TurningPoint USA but has not received a response.
So how was Yenor able to speak at Eagle High School given his controversial notoriety?
The TurningPoint club at the school is a non-curriculum club, according to West Ada's Chief of Staff, Nicole Scheppers. The club requested Yenor to speak during lunch, which is outside of instructional time, Scheppers said. The group is advised by a faculty member.
West Ada policy 503.20 states that "Non-curriculum clubs are student initiated. Their meetings, ideas and activities are not sponsored or endorsed in any way by the Board, the schools, or by school or District employees. The District does not accept any responsibility or liability for non-curriculum clubs."
Scheppers said any funds spent on a guest speaker coming to the school by a club like TurningPoint would be money that would have to be raised by the club -- it would not be paid for by the school.
But, according to Scheppers, the club requested Yenor. The school would have been notified of Yenor's event, the district policy implies. West Ada policy says that "prior notification and approval of the building principal or assistant principal is required before scheduling an outside presentation and any controversial materials."
Some conservative blogs have posted online about the reaction to Yenor's speech, saying the students were "rioting".
However, Scheppers says implying students "misbehaved" in any way during the speech "is a loose term."
"If student conduct was outside of building and district expectations, as outlined in the student handbook, administration would address such," Scheppers said. She stated that the current guest speaker policy and club policy within the district has been recommended for review by their policy committee.
For questions and comments, reach out to Digital Investigative Reporter Alexandra Duggan via email, at aduggan@ktvb.com.
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