Sept. 14 marked the first day of Club Rush, a once-a-semester event for clubs to promote themselves to potentially interested students. But among the well-established faces on campus, and some new ones as well, there was one table that was not like the others.
On the very end of the tables lining the Campus Center Mall, there was one table for Turning Point USA. The table was easy to miss next to the complex Engineering Club display, doubly so since the TPUSA table sat unmanned more often than not.
But to those that actually walked up and examined it, it was clear that this was one of the nicest tables at the convention. Stocked with signs, buttons, rubber bracelets and candy, anyone could tell that TPUSA didn’t come to play. They came to promote.
Turning Point USA is a nonprofit founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk to promote conservative politics on high school and college campuses. Last week marked one year since Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University, an act that led to a surge of interest in TPUSA. Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, was elected as CEO after his death.
Turning Point has official chapters at several universities and colleges near Citrus, such as Mt. SAC, Claremont McKenna and Cal Poly Pomona. However, TPUSA does not have a chapter at Citrus.
The Turning Point representative at the booth, who did not identify herself by name, said that she was a student at Riverside Community College, and that she was there looking to get interest in a TPUSA chapter on campus.
Jade Lopez, the president of Latinos Unidos Student Association, was not pleased with TPUSA’s presence.
“As a first-generation Latina student who comes from a mixed background… it honestly makes me feel uncomfortable,” Lopez said.
Lopez said while she agreed that people were entitled to their own beliefs, “because our campus is majorly made up of immigrants, and of Latinos, I find it kind of… scary.”
She said that college is a place where many people try to get away from conflicts involving politics, ethnicity and immigration status.
“That’s something important to people to not be judged or looked at differently, and just so they can kind of escape the negativity outside in this political climate.”
The sentiment was echoed at the Gender and Sexuality Alliance Club booth by Damien Palmer, Robyn Johnson and Tim King.
Johnson said, “I don’t really know. They’re not a club on campus and this is Club Rush. It’s also a very political thing that has harmed many people and spread harmful rhetoric about many communities, including our community, that we are here trying to provide a safe space for. GSA is very much a safe space for the queer community and many other communities alike, and Turning Point is the exact opposite of that.”
King, who is GSA’s club president, said, “I’ve been part of political clubs before, so I appreciate the free speech aspect.”
“I disagree with the politics and everything…but I just view it as my job to be the opposite, and project my voice out there.”
Both Johnson and Palmer also felt that a non-active club with no students involved did not have a place at Club Rush.
“Yeah,it’s a lot of work to become a club…I have a club that I was a part of …and because of circumstances we weren’t able to be a club this semester, so I don’t think that’s really fair at all,” Johnson said.
Palmer said, “It’s one thing if they were here with all the other political tables that just show up randomly on a random day.”
“I know our school can’t stop them from being here because we are an open campus, but this is Club Rush, for Citrus College clubs. They are not a Citrus College club.”
Rosario Garcia, the student life supervisor, was not initially aware of Turning Point’s presence at Club Rush, but she did say, “We do allow clubs that are not active yet. There are a lot of students who are trying to start clubs, and we do allow them to participate in Club Rush, as long as they follow our guidelines.”
While there was plenty of opposition to the thought of a Turning Point chapter on campus, there was also a lot of support.
A Citrus student in favor of Turning Point was interviewed on the matter, but later requested not to be named.
To become a club on campus, Turning Point will have find a student to officially found their club, and that student must find a faculty adviser and 10 students willing to join. The club also must appoint five officers: a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and an Inter-Club Council representative. According to the ICC’s constitution, that representative has to maintain good academic standing while they hold the position, and an alternate representative must be available.
After all of the spots are filled, the officers will have to petition to form a new club, and their constitution will be evaluated by the Associated Students of Citrus College. The club can only form if the ASCC approves their petition.
