There’s an old saying about not crying over spilled milk, but what happens when the spilling becomes deliberate? Across America’s heartland, something is brewing on college campuses that has nothing to do with coffee or cocoa… it’s a bitter blend of intolerance, served cold with a side of violence.

The University of Iowa prides itself on Midwestern values and academic excellence. Conservative students there, like those nationwide, simply want to engage in the marketplace of ideas that universities once championed; they set up tables, offer refreshments, and invite dialogue. (Remember when that used to be normal?)

But lately, these invitations have been met with something far more sinister than disagreement.

Picture this scene: young conservatives cheerfully offering hot chocolate to passing students, hoping to spark conversations about traditional American values. It’s the kind of wholesome activism that would make any grandparent proud.

But then, without warning, their carefully arranged display becomes airborne.

On November 5th, a 19-year-old student named Justin Pham Calhoon approached a Turning Point USA table outside the Tippie College of Business. What happened next has been viewed over a million times on social media: With a smile on their face, Calhoon flipped the entire display, sending cocoa and conservative literature flying. The TPUSA members, showing remarkable restraint, simply began cleaning up the mess.

From the University of Iowa spokesperson Chris Brewer:

All Iowa students are expected to follow the Code of Student Life, which sets standards for student behavior and conduct. While the outcome of these investigations are considered confidential, discipline is based on the severity of the violation.

The University of Iowa is fully committed to free speech, requiring First Amendment training for all students annually.”

But this wasn’t Calhoon’s first performance. Days earlier, on October 27th, the same student had targeted a Young Americans for Freedom event, and before that, disrupted Daily Wire editor Cabot Phillips’ campus appearance on October 25th. The pattern is clear: conservative speech has become a target for physical retaliation.

Calhoon now faces five criminal charges including disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, and harassment. Iowa State Representative Taylor Collins, watching the footage, delivered a sharp rebuke: “This behavior may be tolerated at Berkeley, but not in the State of Iowa.”

His words echo what many Americans are thinking – when did college campuses become battlegrounds instead of learning grounds? Anyone else notice how the ‘tolerant’ left seems allergic to actual tolerance?

The irony is palpable. Universities claim commitment to free speech, mandating First Amendment training for all students. Yet when conservative students exercise those very rights, they’re met with violence from peers who’ve apparently missed those lessons. Or perhaps they’ve learned different lessons altogether – that some speech is more equal than others.

Now, Calhoon allegedly smiled during the destruction, while the conservative students quietly cleaned up. They didn’t retaliate, didn’t escalate, didn’t even raise their voices; they simply picked up the pieces and carried on. That’s the difference between the two sides right there, written in spilled cocoa and scattered pamphlets.

This is happening barely two months after we lost Charlie Kirk, whose vision for campus conservatism centered on peaceful dialogue and intellectual engagement. He believed young conservatives could change hearts through conversation, not confrontation.

Watching his organization’s members literally picking up the pieces of their destroyed display, one has to wonder: Is this the future of political discourse our universities are fostering? What are we teaching the next generation about handling disagreement? When did offering hot chocolate become an act of provocation worthy of violence? If this is higher education, maybe we should demand a refund.

The spilled cocoa has been cleaned up, but the stain on our academic institutions? That’s going to take more than paper towels.

Key Takeaways

• Conservative students at University of Iowa faced violent attacks simply for offering hot chocolate and conversation
• A 19-year-old student now faces five criminal charges after repeatedly targeting conservative campus events
• While leftist students resort to violence, conservative victims showed maturity by peacefully cleaning up

Sources: The Blaze, Iowa City Press-Citizen