Oklahoma State University student reprimanded by faculty for honoring Charlie Kirk while wearing ‘47’ hat: report

An Oklahoma State University (OSU) student says a school staff member reprimanded him after he gave a speech about the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk because of the hat he wore while doing it. Joshua Wilson, a junior at OSU and chairman of the university’s student senate, said he often meets one-on-one with a staff coordinator for student government.

According to Wilson, the staff member asked to meet privately after he spoke at a student government meeting wearing a white cap with a gold “47,” a reference to Donald Trump as the 47th president, and the Turning Point USA logo, reports News9. 

“It was something that I got volunteering for Turning Point when Charlie Kirk came to campus,” Wilson said. “It had nothing to do with partisan values, but with our First Amendment rights and protecting those.”

Wilson said that after his short speech about Kirk and the fear some conservative students were feeling on campus, the audience responded with big applause. The staff member in question, who was present at the meeting, didn’t say anything at the time. But a week later, Wilson said he received a message asking to meet privately.

“I felt very threatened,” Wilson said. “Why isn’t this something we could have talked about in the Senate? Maybe a text message saying, ‘Hey, dress code.’”

During that meeting, which Wilson recorded, the staff member can be heard saying, “I appreciate your point on the day, but that falls a little far in regard to moving to a political side of things.” The staff member was also heard saying that she has family members who are "triggered" by the hat as well as "triggered" by the GOP. 

Wilson said he explained that the hat wasn’t meant as a partisan statement, but as a symbol of open dialogue. “We thought, OK, we have our Turning Point hats, let’s go to student government and show our constituents they don’t have to be afraid to have a conversation and to speak about what they believe in,” he said.

The conversation reportedly lasted about 25 minutes. Wilson said the staff member suggested his year “could not be easy” if he continued to challenge that perspective. Since that September 17 meeting, Wilson said his access to his student government email account has been limited.

When reached for comment, Oklahoma State University confirmed that no rules prohibit partisan expression within student government.

“The OSU Student Government Association has a nonpartisan tradition, however the organization has no official policies to restrict partisan expression,” the university said in a statement. “The student in question spoke freely during last month’s SGA meeting and expressed his views without interruption or restriction.”

The statement added that OSU “is committed to protecting, promoting and facilitating free expression for all students, regardless of their views,” and said clarification about SGA policies has been shared with university staff.