Former Vice President Mike Pence will speak at the Institute of American Civics’ second annual Undergraduate Civics Symposium in Knoxville on Saturday.
The conference is invitation-only and will take place at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Knoxville. Students and faculty from the Baker School’s IAC and other invited universities will attend the symposium, which is meant to reflect on and discuss patriotism in American civic life.
“America’s 250th anniversary offers a significant opportunity to reflect on the nation’s founding principles. What were they? Were they sound? Have we lived up to them? Should they be reconsidered?” Josh Dunn, executive director of the institute at UT, said.
The 48th vice president of the United States will be joined by Yale University political scientist Steven Smith, as well as members of the College Debates and Discourse Alliance, who plan on leading a debate for students.
Pence visited Knoxville in September of 2018 as a part of U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s campaign. About 50 people peacefully protested his appearance, including representatives from UT student organizations like the Progressive Student Alliance, the College Democrats and the Young Democratic Socialists of America.
“Basically, we’re protesting ultra-conservative policies that Pence and Blackburn support,” Nate Stewart, a UT student who attended the protest, said in 2018. “They’re very homophobic, very anti-immigrant, and we disagree with their policies entirely, as well as their support for ICE. We don’t agree with anything they stand for.”
In September of 2024, Pence spoke at Middle Tennessee State University as part of the university’s annual Constitution Day observance. Similar to his appearance in Knoxville, this sparked controversy among MTSU students and led to several similar organizations condemning the political beliefs of Pence and his supporters.
The Civics Symposium will be a closed event specifically for students and faculty invited through the Baker School. However, the issues protested by students in 2018 remain relevant in today’s political atmosphere as President Donald Trump’s second term continues.
A rift has formed between President Trump and his former vice president since the 2020 election, when Trump asked Pence to overturn the election. Pence made several statements affirming that he lacked the authority to do so, creating conflict that has dominated Pence’s politics since.
“I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence told the conservative Federalist Society in 2021. “The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone. And frankly, there is no idea more un-American than the notion than any one person could choose the American president.”
The symposium will be an opportunity for attendees to discuss and learn more about civic engagement and political theory, as well as meet Pence.
“I am not personally a fan of his politics,” UT sophomore and Tocqueville scholar Taylor Barrett, who plans to attend this Saturday, said. “I’m not personally a fan of him specifically, but just getting to see a former vice president is just a crazy, unbelievable opportunity. And no matter what he has to say, it’s definitely going to be very interesting just to hear his thoughts about patriotism in America today.”
The symposium’s theme of patriotism will allow attendees to reflect on thoughtful citizenship with input from major leaders in the field.
“We don’t love America merely because it is ours, but because its principles are worthy of devotion. I expect professor Smith and Vice President Pence to give additional reasons for patriotism, but I am easily persuaded to the cause,” UT IAC professor Morgan Marietta said.
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