Higher Education

Senator: OU’s weak response to TPUSA harassment is too little, too late

October 20, 2025

Ray Carter

On Oct. 16, Turning Point USA held an event at the Norman campus of the University of Oklahoma attended by thousands of people.

While the event itself was considered a success, the response of OU officials to campus vandals prior to the Turning Point rally is drawing strong criticism.

In the days leading up to the event, multiple videos were shared on social media of individuals on the OU campus destroying signs advertising the Turning Point USA event and behaving aggressively to students involved with Turning Point USA. Several of those videos were shared on the Instagram account of the OU chapter of Turning Point USA.

On Oct. 17, OU President Joseph Harroz, Jr., issued a brief statement declaring the Oct. 16 Turning Point event a success that “reflects our commitment to free expression and open dialogue” while noting the reports of improper behavior and vandalism prior to the event.

“We are aware of reports involving the removal of signs,” Harroz said. “OUPD is actively investigating those incidents and anyone found responsible will be held accountable as appropriate.”

State Sen. Lisa Standridge, R-Norman, sent a letter of response to Harroz that said the senator was “troubled” by Harroz’s statement because it comes “recklessly all too late.”

Standridge noted that OU students involved with Turning Point USA have “been targeted and repeatedly subjected to violent threats on the University of Oklahoma campus.”

“It is reprehensible that students are allowed to harass and destroy the property of students promoting a free speech event at the University of Oklahoma, a university in large part funded by the taxpaying families of those very students,” Standridge wrote.

She indirectly referenced the recent assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in her letter, saying Kirk’s death should have prompted a much more vigilant response from OU officials and that those recorded destroying Turning Point signs should have already faced serious consequences.

“This hollow, after the fact, statement combined with no real time action from the University is reckless in and of itself; however, when coupled with the heinous act of violence that took place on another college campus recently, this continuing practice of no action and no consequences is negligent and does nothing more than embolden this despicable behavior and will undoubtedly lead to even more such acts in the future,” Standridge wrote.

She urged OU officials to take strong action against any students who try to negate the free-speech activities of other students.

“It is irresponsible for our flagship university to let those who took part in damaging public property and physically accosting those with whom they disagree remain students at the University of Oklahoma; their immediate removal is the only appropriate way to ensure accountability and prevent future harassment and vandalism,” Standridge wrote.

While the Oct. 16 Turning Point event occurred as scheduled at the OU campus, the same could not be said for an Oct. 7 Turning Point event in which Mary S. Karp, director of Christian Engagement at Stand With Us, a nationwide organization that supports Israel, was invited to OU to discuss the topic, “Israel’s war on Hamas is 100% justified.”

Karp’s speech was canceled due to death threats and associated security concerns.

Officials with the OU chapter of Turning Point USA released a statement after Karp’s speech was canceled, warning, “The status quo is changing. It has come to our attention that political violence is becoming the new normal on our University’s campus.”

Notably, an Oct. 7 event held by OU Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Association, which was critical of Israel, was conducted without disruption.

A recent survey, conducted by College Pulse and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), found 42 percent of student respondents at the University of Oklahoma said using violence to stop someone from speaking on campus is acceptable, at least in rare cases. That was well above the national average.

The FIRE survey found there are roughly 1.84 liberal students for every one conservative student at OU.