The announcement of a controversial guest’s appearance on the University of Memphis’ campus has caused an uproar on social media, with many saying that they intend to protest the event.
The University of Memphis’ chapter of Turning Point USA announced it will be hosting “The Rittenhouse Recap,” featuring Kyle Rittenhouse on March 20th.
“Join us at The University of Memphis as Kyle Rittenhouse speaks about the importance of the Second Amendment, and the lies of BLM [Black Lives Matter,]” the event page says.
Rittenhouse gained notoriety in 2020, when at the age of 17 he shot three men — killing two — in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during civil rights protests. He was acquitted in November 2021, after claiming self-defense.
Not everyone was upset about Rittenhouse’s appearance. Some expressed excitement, and applauded the conservative group for its plans to host him on campus. “I signed up. Excited to see him!!!” a user named Jim Prudhomme commented on Facebook.
A user by the name of Rebecca French Edwards shared the event, stating “Get your tix and show up to support this patriot. The coward cancel culture is trying to sign up for all the tix to keep them from those who support Patriots.”
While some believe that Rittenhouse’s appearance is an exercise in freedom of speech, others have expressed their disdain and anger about the event.
“As an alumni of U of Memphis, this is beyond shameful and disgusting,” Instagram user @foner.w commented under the original post. “Y’all deserve nothing but condemnation. No space or quarter will ever be given for racism or fascism to be platformed or speak freely at the U of M. People will not stand for this or allow this to happen, period.”
The user went on to post a comment, which was hidden by the owner of the page, that Rittenhouse’s appearance in a city with such a rich history would be “beyond disrespectful,” and that citizens “have a right to call for action and protest this event.”
Tami Sawyer, newly selected Democratic nominee for Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk, took to her social media platforms to ask the public to contact university president Bill Hardgrave and chief of staff Stephanie Beasley about “how [they] feel about Rittenhouse speaking at OUR school.”
“The University of Memphis, my double Alma Mater, where my mother was arrested as a student for protesting segregation. A school in a city that is majority Black. You’re allowing a racist and murderer to speak on campus @uofmemphis?” Sawyer said in a tweet.
Following the announcement, an Instagram page was created — @tpusa_protest_uofm. It encourages people to reserve tickets for the event but not show up: “Get your free tickets to Kyle’s show at uofm. Help us show our disapproval by making his event a no show, sell out!”
Rittenhouse is apparently aware of the protest and responded on X, stating, “I saw this today and the first thing I remember is that they tried this last month when I spoke at ETSU. The left failed at attempting to cancel me and they will fail again!”
The University of Memphis has released the following statement: ‘The upcoming event at the University of Memphis featuring Kyle Rittenhouse is not sponsored by the University. A registered student organization, University of Memphis TPUSA, is hosting the event. Under the First Amendment and Tennessee’s Campus Free Speech Act, the University of Memphis cannot legally prohibit such events from being hosted by a registered student organization.”
