Former Vice President Mike Pence is set to headline the second annual Undergraduate Civics Symposium in downtown Knoxville, where college students from across Tennessee will spend a day talking patriotism, politics, and how to disagree without blowing the roof off the place.
The daylong gathering will bring undergraduates from campuses around the state together to dig into the role of patriotism in civic life. Each school is invited to send one faculty member and up to five students, with organizers saying every representative will receive a $100 stipend. A student debate is also on the schedule as a central feature of the program.
What organizers announced
The symposium is booked for a Marriott in downtown Knoxville and lists Pence as the keynote speaker, according to WATE. The outlet reports that this is the second year of the event and that undergraduates will be asked to tackle the question of how patriotism fits into civic life. WATE also notes that participants will receive modest stipends intended to offset travel and attendance costs.
Who is organizing the debate
The symposium’s debate component is slated to be run by the College Debates and Discourse Alliance, a national partnership that oversees campus debate and civil discourse programming, according to the College Debates and Discourse Alliance. The alliance, a joint initiative of Braver Angels, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, and BridgeUSA, says it focuses on structured, nonpartisan formats that give students practice in arguing their views without turning every disagreement into a shouting match.
Speakers and scholars
Alongside Pence, the symposium lists Dr. Steven B. Smith, the Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science at Yale, as a scheduled keynote speaker. Smith is known for his work in political philosophy and constitutional issues, according to Wikipedia, underscoring that the event is pitched as an academic deep dive rather than a straightforward political rally.
Context for Pence’s appearance
Pence’s appearance comes with some heavy recent history attached. As vice president, he presided over the certification of the 2020 Electoral College results and has publicly stated that he “lacked unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” a language reflected in the congressional record. That role and those comments, tied to the events of January 6, 2021, are detailed in the official record at Congress.gov.
How students can take part
According to WATE, colleges across Tennessee have been invited to send a single faculty representative and up to five students to join panels and the debate. Organizers say the goal is to give students real practice in civil argument while they hash out where patriotism belongs in modern civic life.
Local campuses and civic groups are expected to keep an eye on final scheduling and attendance details as organizers lock in logistics. This story will be updated as additional information is released.
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