The University of Mississippi is preparing to host a Wednesday night stop on Turning Point USA’s revived college tour as it recently returned to the road following its founder, Charlie Kirk, being assassinated on a college campus in Utah last month.
While thousands of students – and non-students, if they can get in – are expected to enter the SJB Pavilion to hear from Kirk’s widow, Erika, and Vice President JD Vance, a wide range of emotions is being displayed on campus.
Many right-leaning students are excited about the opportunity to keep the legacy of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and open debater, alive and participate in a question-and-answer session with Vance. Vance will be introduced by Erika before taking the stage at the basketball arena that holds roughly 9,500 people. The event, which is part of the “This Is the Turning Point” campus tour, begins at 5 p.m. with doors opening at 3 p.m.
“I am extremely thrilled,” said Lesley Lachman, who serves as president of the Turning Point chapter at Ole Miss. “What’s going through my head is this really is the turning point, and I think that this is the moment of realization that this elite university is getting recognized as a place of conservative values and true American spirit. So, we’re beyond excited to have them come to campus, and we’re set and ready.”
Kenneth Tonos, the vice president of the Turning Point chapter at Ole Miss, said he believes the event could be more impactful than when the university hosted a presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain in September 2008.
“In my humble opinion, this is the biggest event,” he said when asked about the excitement level on campus. “It could be bigger than the 2008 presidential debate that happened on campus, because [Vance] is someone who is currently in office and could be the next president of the United States, too.”
According to Gregg Davidson, one of two faculty advisors for the Turning Point chapter at Ole Miss, the university has one of the more successful chapters in the entire nation. He said their first meeting in 2017 inadvertently broke fire code with how many people showed up, and at last count, current participation was over 400 members.
“We’re anticipating possibly over 9,000 students being in that pavilion. Most of them are going to be there just enthusiastic about what the future could look like for America and mourning Charlie’s passing, but at the same time realizing what it has done for the mission,” Davidson said.
Members of the university’s Turning Point chapter and other students who may not be directly involved but have similar political views reserved their free tickets well in advance of Wednesday’s event. However, other students who are more left-leaning have reserved seats too, Turning Point chapter member Emily Purifoy said.
“There’s a lot of excitement. I have a lot of friends who aren’t into politics and are still interested to come,” she explained. “But I have heard of students who are pretty unhappy about what’s happening and have talked about going in and saving seats and then leaving, so that conservative students can’t come in and listen.”
The Young Democrats of Ole Miss and other organizations have organized a counter-event to take place at the same time as the Turning Point event. The Mississippi Rise Up Town Hall will happen at the student union on campus beginning at 5 p.m. and feature Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson and Ole Miss sociology professor Dr. James Thomas as speakers.
“Our university has a long, complicated history full of troublesome lapses in moral clarity, and this (Turning Point) event brings just one more speaker whose legacy will not endure the test of time,” a statement from campus organizers reads, adding that similar events will be happening in the near future. “We look forward to hosting a series of events to coincide with the vice president’s visit, in order to demonstrate that the University of Mississippi and its students are not beholden to any singular ideology.”
The Mississippi Democratic Party publicly issued its support of the counter-event on Tuesday, calling it a true example of “civic engagement, free expression, and thoughtful discourse that are essential to our democracy.”
