Beth Ann Rosica: WCU students turn out for campus MAGA event
Beth Ann Rosica
On a warm Halloween afternoon, thousands of West Chester University (WCU) students and local residents rallied in the Quad to support presidential candidate Donald Trump and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. Hosted by Turning Points USA, a non-profit founded by conservative Charlie Kirk, the “You’re Being Brainwashed Tour” seeks to debunk myths and misconceptions about Trump and his policies. Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential primary candidate who dropped out to endorse Trump, is now traveling the country to educate young people about his platform.
Students started gathering at least an hour before the event and were engaged and excited to learn more about conservative ideas.The atmosphere was festive with some students dressed in Halloween costumes and many wearing MAGA hats and shirts. The event organizers threw out hats and the students scrambled to snag one. As Ramaswamy took the outside stage, the audience started chanting, “USA! USA! USA!”
Before the event, I talked with a number of WCU students. Sandra Cairo (below, at left), a junior, and Gianna Petschelt (right), a senior, are members of the Young Republicans Club and helped to plan the event. Cairo said that despite the liberal atmosphere on campus, the University was “very supportive of the event.” They said that Harris has turned off Christians and that is one reason why they are supporting Trump.
Robert Harris (below, at left), a freshman from Haverford, is a conservative who wants to learn more. He said WCU is openly liberal and conservatives on campus are generally quieter. He cited an example where earlier in the day on a social media platform, Snapchat, some WCU students were warning others if they weren’t going to vote for Kamala, then they just shouldn’t vote. Robert Harris said he posted in reply, “people should vote for whoever they want regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, etc.”
Elle Stephenson (below, left) and Kali Hinkle (right) came to the event because they were interested to learn more about Trump. They said that the campus is very liberal, and they want to be more informed voters.
John Stinson (below at left), Carmine Esposito (center), and Kyle Brown (right) are freshmen supporting Trump. Esposito said he came out because he ”wanted to see the liberals get their sh*t on.” They said “Trump is a good guy and Harris doesn’t know what she is doing.”
While the majority of the audience was fully supporting Trump, there were a handful of protestors in attendance. Joe Galdi (below, holding the sign), is a fifth-year student who opposes most of Trump’s policies, including his stance on abortion, social security tax, immunity for police officers, presidential immunity, affirmative action, and rights for Muslim people.
As a longtime West Chester resident, I was surprised to see this level of enthusiasm for Trump locally, especially on the college campus, and equally curious about the lack of protestors. West Chester is likely one of the most progressive boroughs in the Commonwealth with a high majority of registered Democratic voters, so it was interesting to witness the fervor of the crowd and the general lack of push back.
But perhaps I shouldn’t be quite so astonished because there appears to be a shift happening in the town. There are more Trump signs in West Chester for this presidential election than the previous two. When I talk with conservatives living in the liberal town, they are as the student Robert Harris described: quieter. Many have not put out signs in the past for fear of being canceled or targeted by those with “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Sadly, those with the “Hate has no home here” signs in their yard, are often the meanest.
Yet, something has clearly changed both on the campus and in the town. People are either less afraid or willing to risk hypothetical consequences in order to publicly demonstrate their support of Trump. Maybe they are fed up with the current state of the economy and foreign affairs or they just don’t want Harris to win. Maybe they are tired of hiding their views and want to openly support their preferred candidate. Regardless of the reason, the dynamics are definitely changing.
It will be interesting to see if the college students will actually get out and vote. Ramaswamy asked who had already voted and who planned to vote, and there were cheers for both questions. The University appears to have a campaign to encourage and help students to vote, and if they actually get out and vote, they could impact the overall results of the election.
It is very likely that Pennsylvania will determine the outcome of the presidential election, and events like this may provide some insights into the changing demographics of voters. Will these ardent — and previously unlikely — Trump supporters be the tipping point for West Chester and the entire state of Pennsylvania? We shall see.
Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at barosica@broadandliberty.com.
“thousands of West Chester University (WCU) students and local residents rallied in the Quad ” Thousands??!! That’s like when Trump claimed his Presidential Inauguration had more people than than either of Obama’s.
I agree, a few hundred at best!
The comment that some Christians were turned off by Harris so they were supporting trump was a joke. He is the least Christ-like figure ever. And a good person does not make death threats to those who oppose him. I just heard that the Arizona attorney general is investigating Trump’s diatribe about Liz Cheney to see if it constitutes a death threat.
Anyone who watched the video will know his comments about Cheney were completely accurate and legal. The “investigation” is just anti-democratic lawfare against political enemies.
What laws did Liz Cheney break?
Oh my goodness Judah, you really believed the media lie, pushed by Harris, that Donald Trump threatened Liz Cheney? That is hysterical. They can get every trick by you, can’t they? He was saying she is a war hawk (accurate) and that it was easy for her to make decisions to send our children to foreign wars from the safety and security of her DC office. That she should pick up a gun and join them and see how easily she makes those decisions.
Also, LOL at the left defending the Cheney family, Bush family and McCain family.
Numbers? Imagine a big school project where everyone has to make sure their work is counted correctly. In PA 6.9 million voted in Pennsylvania in 2020. A significant turnout, with around 78% of registered voters participating. In France, for the 2022 presidential election, around 38 million people (5x PA) voted, with a turnout of about 72%. As for how long it takes to get results, in France, preliminary results are usually available on the evening of the election day, shortly after the polls close. In PA? Who Knows? In France? Their quick reporting is made possible by the use of paper ballots and a well-organized counting process, which allows for efficient tabulation of votes. Here’s how France’s voting process is different from the United States and why it’s more secure:
Paper Ballots: In France, people usually vote using paper ballots. This means they write their choice on a piece of paper, which can be counted by hand later if needed. In the U.S., some places use machines to count votes, which can sometimes have problems or mistakes.
Voter ID: In France, voters have to show an ID when they go to vote. This helps make sure that the person voting is really who they say they are. In some parts of the U.S., people don’t always have to show ID (in fact in California it is a crime), which can make it easier for someone to pretend to be someone else.
Election Day: In France, everyone votes on the same day, and it’s a national holiday. This makes it easier for people to go out and vote because they don’t have to worry about work or school. In the U.S., voting can happen over several days, which can sometimes lead to confusion.
Counting Votes: After the votes are cast in France, they are counted right away, and there are many people watching to make sure everything is done fairly. In the U.S., the counting can take longer, and sometimes people worry about how the votes are counted.
Less Technology: France uses less technology in their voting process, which means there are fewer chances for things to go wrong with machines. In the U.S., while technology can help, it can also create problems if the machines don’t work right.
So, while both countries want to make sure everyone’s vote counts, some people think France’s way is more secure because it relies more on paper and clear rules, making it harder for mistakes to happen.
The last time you trotted out this theory, you made the claim that French voting was highly corrupt and included “facts” that back you claim. Please remember I live in America, not France.
In América Election Day is not a national holiday. It take so longer to count ballots because mail in ballots can not be processed until the polls close. We also have many states that have automatic recount laws if the margin falls below a certain number.
If you like France so much, you should move there.
I used DuckDuckGo AI chat and asked it to write a reason why France’s election process is more secure than the United States – on a 6th grade level. Now, if I lived in Michigan and complained about lead in the pipes, pointing out a better way to pipe water, your last sentence is not very nice nor bright. Is it? Additionally, what I wrote was France changed to their current voting system IN 1975 and banned mail-in voting because of PREVIOUS fraud.
Machine-voting was allowed as an experiment in 2002, but the purchase of new machines has been frozen since 2008 due to security concerns in France. Only a few dozen towns still use them.
I’m not interested in moving – I’m interested in improving the United States voting system and pointing out examples where others have been before and then implemented improvements.
The estimate was 2,500. Hit that easily, the event was packed and there were a lot people joining as class let out. Amazing turn out! WCU really showed up!
Doesn’t sound like you were there. I’m sure plenty of video will be available on X
Please provide the source for this estimate.
It was originally posted by TPUSA and I can confirm it first-hand.
Unfortunately there wasn’t any media there other than what TPUSA brought with them so first-hand estimates are really all we have.
TPUSA is a biased source, because they organized the rally.
Sean and TPUSA may be biased but your obvious dias is showing through loud and clear.
Lot of projection and hope in this article.: facts not included unless you scan the photos; e.g., Turning Point = Brainwashers.
I was there! It was an amazing event- a see of people (at least a couple thousand), mostly students and full of energy!