Last week, the student senate at Santa Clara University rejected Turning Point USA, a conservative non-profit organization, from receiving official status at the school because the students believe the group makes other students “feel uncomfortable” and goes against “humanity.”
Some see the move as discrimination and an attempt to suppress conservative free speech.
“This is the campus left at its very worst,” Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk told Breitbart News. “It’s incredible to see how a [student senate] that disguises itself as tolerant, diverse and loving of all opinions, truly is the most intolerant group of people that you will come across.”
Kirk, who founded the group five years ago, added, “Our organization was denied for no other reason other than 18 out of 28 senators disagreed with us. And that is a very dangerous precedent: When you can silence someone’s right to assemble just because you disagree with them.”
According to minutes from the meeting, the student senate voted 16-to-10 to reject Turning Point’s request on February 2. Sophomore Senator Alex Perlman said, “The benefits [of] being part of this organization are outweighed by the amount of people who feel uncomfortable with people being part of this charter organization.” Another student speaker, named Issac, said, “This organization nationally and on this campus is against our ideals as a Jesuit philosophy and against our humanity and senators need to think about that before voting.”
Turning Point USA describes its mission as to “identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.” It has a presence on over 1,000 campuses nationwide.
While Turning Point USA has 20 chapters throughout California, Sam Correia, state field director for Turning Point USA, told the San Jose Mercury News that the organization’s only officially recognized chapters in the state are in Orange County. The Mercury News notes that Santa Clara University would have become the first Northern California school to officially recognize a Turning Point USA chapter.
“It is very unfortunate,” Correia, reportedly said. “College campuses can be overwhelmingly liberal, and we’re trying to bring the other side.”
Student senator David Warne told the Mercury News he supported Turning Point USA’s application. But explained that its proposal for recognition was “problematic in the eyes of many because of past ties with [Breitbart Tech Editor] Milo Yiannopoulos,” who has faced violent protests over the course of his “Dangerous Faggot Tour.”
However, student Caleb Alleva, who led the effort to form the Turning Point USA chapter, told the Mercury News that he felt it was “ironic” that students said were afraid and felt unsafe because of Turning Point USA’s presence on campus. “I know a student who put a Trump-Pence sign outside their door and found it destroyed in a stairwell,” Warne said.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter and Periscope @AdelleNaz
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