Josh Wilson, a student at Oklahoma State University, was censured by a faculty member for wearing a “45-47” hat during a speech made in honor of the late Founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk. The speech took place on the day of Kirk’s death.
Melisa Echols, coordinator of student government programs, claimed the hat had the potential to trigger students and sought to caution Wilson the following week.
According to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA), the hat was given to Wilson by Kirk this year at a spring event.
“Echols claimed wearing the hat made Wilson’s speech a partisan event in violation of student-government rules, told Wilson he should talk to ‘people that don’t look like you,” OCPA reported.
Wilson was then warned that if he continued acting in a partisan manner, this would be a “very difficult” year for him, and relayed that people on campus and outside of it were triggered by it.
“As a person who doesn’t look like you and has not had the same lived experience as you, I have family who don’t look like you who are triggered — and I will be very candid with you — who are triggered by those hats and by that side,” Echols said.
At some point in the discussion, in the face of Echols’ criticism of his conduct, Wilson mentioned his Cherokee heritage and that he engages with diverse groups of people in his daily life.
“I don’t like to pull that card,” Wilson said, according to OCPA. “But if you’re going to pull that card on me, I might as well.”
