Wartburg College Denies Recognition to Conservative Student Group over School’s ‘Values’

Last week, a conservative student group at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, was denied recognition on the basis that the group doesn’t conform to the school’s “values.”

A group of students at the private Wartburg College looking to establish a Turning Point USA chapter was denied earlier this month. Emily Russell, who was to serve as the chapter’s president, said in a statement that the group was utterly disappointed in the student government’s decision. “We were very disappointed in the vote today, especially because we worked really hard with the subcommittee, and made a lot of changes to make them comfortable with our organization,” she said.

Shortly after the school’s student government refused to recognize the club, a local director for Turning Point USA asked Dean of Students Daniel Kittle for clarification as to the student government’s decision, “If you could provide a little insight as to why we were denied after getting a recommendation from the subcommittee as well as what the appeal process is moving forward, that would great.”

Kittle explained that the reason for the decision was based on the student government’s belief that Turning Point USA does not share the school’s values. “In short, I believe that the Student Senate body were concerned that the values of Turning Point, as evidenced by expressed tactics, were not in line with the values of Wartburg College,” he wrote.

“As for next steps, I am eager to work with the Wartburg students on advancing a new student organization that supports their agenda to increase conservative dialogue,” Kittle added. “While the Student Senate has closed the Turning Point possibility, there are still an unlimited number of ways to advance that cause.”

Turning Point USA claims that they have a presence on over 1,000 college campuses. Just this week, a Turning Point USA chapter at the public University of Wyoming had their funding cut off after they hosted an event featuring conservative commentator Dennis Prager.