Protesters gathered in front of the Classic Center Tuesday in response to Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) “This is the Turning Point” tour featuring Vice President JD Vance. The protest was hosted by Young Democrats of UGA (YDUGA), Young Democratic Socialists of America at UGA (YDSA UGA) and Indivisible GA 10, and featured multiple speakers.
“We’re just letting the administration know we’re fed up,” Luke Trandel, the political director of YDUGA, said, referencing a rising cost of living and the war in Iran. “If they’re gonna come to our town, we’re gonna let them know how we feel.”
Protestors expressed their disapproval holding signs bearing phrases including “Read History Books” and “You know what you are,” while shouting “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” as attendees entered the event.
“Everything that Erika Kirk and JD Vance stand for — I can’t be a student here knowing that this is going on, and not at least try to do my part in [preventing] it,” Amanda Abeldanez, a junior environmental health science major, said.
Athens resident Darby Harris attended the protest because she didn’t want the TPUSA event “to represent [her] town.”
“I want them to know that Athens stands against what they’re standing for,” Harris said. “We’re against the war, we’re against fascism, we’re against an authoritarian rule where they’re taking the rights away from the people by not getting congressional approval for everything they’re doing.”
Harris specifically expressed anger with the war in Iran, arguing that Vance is “wasting time” in Athens when he could be negotiating an end to the war. She cited approximately how much the war is costing the U.S. per second, which according to The Intercept, is between $11,500 and $23,000.
The group eventually moved to a blocked off area in front of Akins Ford Arena, continuing to chant phrases and sing “Our love for each other will carry us through.” A few attendees from the TPUSA event trickled out early and walked through the crowd of protesters, including Emma Gail, a sophomore bioscience major.
Gail said she left because “[Vance] was talking nothing but nonsense and [gave] very PR answers.”
“He won’t answer anything that has anything to do with America [or] the war in Gaza,” Gail said. “He’s only going to answer what he wants to answer. He’s not gonna answer anything about the Pope.”
Collin Young, who was asked to leave the event after he yelled “Jesus Christ doesn’t support genocide” at Vance, also stood near the protesters.
“I don’t think I came with the intention to disrupt, but I realized that I wanted to … [after Vance was] justifying war from a Christian lens,” Young said.
As the event came to a close, protestors “boo-ed” attendees leaving, chanting “shame.”
Aspen David, co-chair of YDSA UGA, emphasized sustained movement as a key goal of the protest.
“The things that actually matter, the things that create real change, are sustained movements,” David said. “[We’re] just trying to build up those popular movements, because that’s really how we are able to create and leverage power as the people.”
Trandel agreed, highlighting Trump’s low approval rates and what is at stake in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I think this all adds up to us taking the House and Senate back in November,” Trandel said. “I think this is a success just being out here, and I think we’ll see the benefits of our labor further on in November.”