NE Valley Times

Video footage emerged last week showing a physical altercation involving a professor at Arizona State University (ASU), a reporter from Turning Point USA, and a cameraman from Turning Point USA. The incident has sparked a debate about the funding of colleges with taxpayers' money.

The video captured a confrontation between Turning Point USA reporter Kalen D’Almeida and ASU Professor Danny Boyles. Boyles, who teaches English at the university, is also the co-founder of Drag Story Hour Arizona, an initiative that involves "drag queens" reading books to children in public settings. In the video, D'Almeida can be seen asking Boyles questions about his involvement with Drag Story Hour and minors, but Boyles refuses to answer, according to NBC News.

Turning Point USA posted about the incident on the X platform, stating, "Our TPUSA Frontlines reporter tried to ask self-professed 'sex education obsessed' queer ASU Professor David Boyles a few simple questions. Refusing to answer, our cameras caught the exact moment Mr. Boyles assaulted, pushed, and clawed at our cameraman. The reporter then attempted to remove Professor Boyles from our cameraman, which caused Mr. Boyles to fall and scrape his face on the ground."

Boyles, in turn, alleges that the men assaulted him. ASU President Michael Crow issued a statement regarding the incident, siding with Boyles and criticizing the actions of the individuals associated with Turning Point, according to NBC News.

The altercation has ignited a discussion about the funding of colleges with taxpayers' money. Illinois State Representative Allen Skillicorn questioned the use of tax dollars to support colleges, stating, "When will we stop funding these colleges with our tax money?"

Former Executive Director of The Lewis Center at Arizona State University, Ann Atkinson, also criticized the university's response, stating, "ASU President Crow was quick to issue a statement defending this professor, who clearly hit first. Physical violence is never ok. Death to Israel rallies on campus this week received no response from the administration."

Atkinson shared a screenshot on the X platform, allegedly from Boyles' class syllabus, which indicated that the course involves reading texts containing content related to sexual situations among teenagers, sexual violence, "transphobia," "gender dysphoria," and other "difficult topics."

The incident has raised questions about the role of universities in promoting controversial topics and the use of taxpayer funds to support such endeavors. The debate surrounding the incident and the funding of colleges is likely to continue as more details emerge.