Turning Point USA’s spring college tour kicked off this week with a stop at UNC-Chapel Hill featuring conservative commentator Candace Owens. Over 600 attendees completely filled the event space Wednesday night and many more registrants were barred from entering due to the limited capacity.
Although opposition protests are common at TPUSA campus events – a college conservative group founded by Charlie Kirk – no protests of Owens’ speech came to pass in Chapel Hill. Instead, a sweeping crowd of students remained outside in the rain hoping to be allowed inside.
University officials and several police officers strictly monitored the George Watts Hill Alumni Center to ensure the group didn’t surpass room capacity, blocking the building entrance for the entirety of the event. University officials told the Carolina Journal that the event space was at capacity as determined by the fire marshal, who was on site.
TPUSA staff noted there were still open seats in the room, but the university would not allow any additional entries, even as some attendees left.
Daily Wire personality Candace Owens spoke on stage for over an hour, took audience questions, and highlighted growing education problems at universities across America.
“When you leave college and you get into the real world, you realize how little you’re even being told about history. The classroom is a perfect setting to propagandize students,” Owens said on stage. “Sometimes you think that you’re receiving an education, but actually the goal is to pervert you because there’s some financial incentive at the end of it.”
She referred to the sex education campaign that started in the 1970s that was funded through organizations like Planned Parenthood, which in her opinion marked the beginning of sexualizing students through classroom materials.
A young woman told Owens that she learned very quickly that if you disagree with the political views of your professors or their assistants, your grade will suffer. She said, “As much as they deny it, it’s the truth.”
“You should not take that sitting down,” urged Owens. “You have to let them know that you’re not going to take it. By the way, when you develop those skills, get used to not being liked.”
One student waiting outside was Jesse Pomé, a 20-year-old who traveled about an hour from Asheboro to hear Owens speak. A community college student, he told the Carolina Journal that the movement is growing and people are starting to think for themselves.
“I’m a big Turning Point fan. I’m a big fan of what they stand for – basic, American, traditional values that I grew up learning,” said Pomé. “People have had enough with the progressive ideology; a lot of people are starting to flip and come to the right way of thinking.”
Chapel Hill is the first campus stop of the year for the nationwide Live Free Tour. As part of the tour, Candace Owens and Charlie Kirk will travel to speak at six more college campuses throughout the spring.