Hundreds of people packed the University Center Student Plaza at the University of Memphis on Tuesday for a “Prove Me Wrong” event hosted by the campus Turning Point USA chapter, featuring conservative media personality and author Will Witt. The gathering turned into a sprawling open-air debate over diversity, equity and inclusion and immigration policy, with dueling signs and sharp exchanges unfolding in front of a crowd of onlookers.
According to The Daily Helmsman, Turning Point employees staffed the table alongside Witt, holding signs encouraging passersby to engage him directly while others declared “DEI is racist” and called for stronger immigration enforcement. A Turning Point representative told the student paper that Witt's focus was DEI and immigration, though he fielded other topics when attendees asked. The format mirrors Turning Point USA's national “Prove Me Wrong” debate series hosted by Charlie Kirk, according to Turning Point USA.
Students Push Back With Their Own Signs and Data
Not everyone at the plaza came to agree with Witt. Event materials on display included a claim that 70% of immigrants in detention have not been convicted of a crime, along with a still image from a video showing an ICE agent holding a gun at someone, the Helmsman reported. UofM student Simone Carter held the 70% infographic and told the paper the event's energy felt more geared toward being right than toward genuine dialogue.
Other attendees carried signs reading “immigration is essential to American culture” and arguing that people who are not benefiting from DEI programs are privileged. Junior communications major Libby Fernandez said encouraging people to have conversations is a great thing, per the same report. Langston Winston, a public health pre-med major, offered a more critical view, saying the event's ideas did not create a safe environment.
Many Students Didn't Know the Chapter Existed
The event was listed on TigerZone, the university's official student organization platform, but the Helmsman reported that many students were unaware an active Turning Point chapter even operated on campus. That surprise comes despite the chapter's history of bringing high-profile conservative figures to Memphis — it previously hosted Riley Gaines in November 2025 for a TigerZone-promoted talk on gender norms in women's sports held in the University Center Theatre, according to the student paper's earlier coverage.
Turning Point USA is the largest conservative youth organization in the country, operating more than 900 active college chapters nationwide, per the organization's own materials. A planned event featuring Vivek Ramaswamy at Ohio State was covered earlier this year by Hoodline in a Turning Point Ohio State visit.
A Debate Shaped by State Law
The clash over DEI carries particular weight at the University of Memphis, where Data USA reports that the student body of more than 20,000 is approximately 62.7% non-White, with Black students making up an estimated 35% to 38% of enrollment, according to Data USA. The debate also unfolds against a backdrop of sweeping state action: Tennessee lawmakers passed House Bill 622, concerning certain hiring decisions, and House Bill 923, concerning offices or departments promoting or requiring discriminatory preferences, in April 2025, according to the Tennessee House Republican Caucus.
At the same time, Tennessee's Campus Free Speech Protection Act, in effect since January 1, 2018, protects against shielding people from offensive speech, according to East Tennessee State University's summary of the law. A separate measure, the Tennessee Higher Education Freedom of Expression and Transparency Act, took effect in July 2023 and prohibits public colleges from forcing students or staff to endorse so-called divisive concepts, including claims that any race or sex is inherently privileged or oppressive, per the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The statutes address speech and expression at public colleges in Tennessee.
Witt's Background and No Comment From Organizers
Witt built his national profile hosting “Man on the Street” interview videos for PragerU before serving as editor-in-chief of The Florida Standard in 2022 and being named Chief Social Media Officer at New College of Florida in August 2025, according to Florida Politics. He has also authored Do Not Comply: Taking Power Back from America's Corrupt Elite, published in 2023.
The Helmsman reported that it was redirected to a Turning Point media contact when seeking comment, and that neither Witt nor Turning Point provided a response to an interview request. The event unfolded amid Tennessee's shifting legal landscape for campus speech.
