Turning Point USA paid OU over $20,000 to rent the Lloyd Noble Center for its October event as part of “The Turning Point Tour.”
Through a contract obtained Tuesday via an open records request filed Sept. 29, OU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics entered an agreement with Turning Point USA to rent Lloyd Noble Center for $21,512, including a $5,000 facility fee.
The contract, which rented Lloyd Noble Center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the night of Oct. 16, was signed on Oct. 10 by Andrew Sypher, vice president of field operations for Turning Point USA.
Turning Point USA also obtained a $1 million insurance policy, required by OU athletics, to cover both potential property and bodily injury of spectators, staff and participants.
The documents show that Turning Point USA first contacted the university on Aug. 13 to host conservative activist and the organization’s founder Charlie Kirk on Oct. 16 at McCasland Field House, the original location of “The Turning Point Tour” before it was moved to Lloyd Noble Center to hold more attendees.
According to communication between OU risk coordinator Anne Clinton and Kalib Magana, OU Turning Point USA president, the agreement for Kirk’s appearance on campus was nearly completed on Sept. 9, one day before Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University.
On Sept. 8, Magana wrote in an email to George Ahmadi, director of student government and organization services, asking what other approvals Turning Point USA needed for the event.
“Similar to the tabling event, we're waiting on insurance from TPUSA and still needing OUPD to sign off on the security,” Ahmadi wrote back on Sept. 9.
Turning Point USA resubmitted its event application on Oct. 1, a week after Turning Point USA announced it would continue Kirk’s tour under a new name and with a rotating lineup of notable conservative figures.
On Oct. 16, Gov. Kevin Stitt, Russell Brand and Savannah Chrisley spoke at OU’s Lloyd Noble Center as part of "The Turning Point Tour" to roughly 6,000 people. During the event, Stitt and Chrisley spoke about the importance of conservative activism on college campuses and Brand held a question and answer session with the audience after discussing religion, politics and his path to living in the United States while awaiting sexual assault and rape charges in England.
October’s event saw appearances from Oklahoma politicians, including U.S. representatives Tom Cole and Stephanie Bice.
The same night as Turning Point’s event, across the street from the Lloyd Noble Center, OU held its fall Presidential Speakers Series dinner which featured Akhil Reed Amar, Yale University professor of law and political science. Amar spoke at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History about constitutional issues in modern politics.
During the dinner, which was attended by OU president Joseph Harroz Jr., Amar encouraged attendees to get more informed about political issues, but also unlearn common misconceptions. He said it’s important for college campuses to impart neutrality and nonpartisanship to students.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza and Audrey McClour.
