OXFORD, Miss. — On Oct. 29, Turning Point USA hosted a large event at the University of Mississippi with keynote speakers J.D. Vance and Turning Point CEO Erika Kirk. More than 10,000 spectators crowded the Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. The Oxford event was part of a larger initiative called the “This is the Turning Point Tour.”
The campus streets were packed with students, waiting in line several hours before doors opened. The cold weather, rain and wind did little to deter the crowd.
Students from several universities in the state traveled to Oxford to catch the vice presidential visit. The event was first opened to students, then to a general admission line.
“We got here hours before the event, and there’s thousands of people behind us in line and then probably a thousand in front of us,” Garett Ramsey, a Mississippi College senior, said. “I’m glad we got somebody like the Vice President to come speak in Mississippi—I’m happy we were able to drive up to Oxford.”
While Ramsey and several of his friends made the deliberate trip to attend, many Ole Miss students—the majority of the crowd—gathered a short distance from where they live.
Students were not the only group attending the event; several key federal, state, and local leaders were seen in the stands and on the arena floor. Local representation consisted of several state legislators and Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill. Top state leaders, including Gov. Tate Reeves and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, were joined by Mississippi House Speaker Jason White and Attorney General Lynn Fitch. A majority of Mississippi’s federal delegation also came out to support the Vice President. U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, and Congressmen Trent Kelly and Michael Guest were in attendance.
In his speech, the vice president encouraged students to pursue open and honest dialogue even in rough political climates. While Vance did spend some time addressing specific issues and policies within the Trump administration, his core message highlighted the importance of peaceful disagreement, national unity and civic engagement.
