SGA Approves Turning Point USA Chapter on Campus

Outside Blume Board Room while SGA deliberated the eligibility of EU’s Turning Point USA chapter as a registered student organization on April 2. (Ashley Vanderhoff)

Elmhurst University’s Student Government Association approved a chapter of the conservative advocacy club Turning Point USA on Thursday, a decision met with immediate backlash from students and faculty who questioned the group’s national ties and the approval process.

“I know that, because more people might be against us, that makes our voices more of a minority, which establishes kind of my point to have this on campus — to be heard,” said senior Tim Dudasik, founder and president of the EU chapter.

Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk last September, Dudasik launched the chapter of TPUSA, a national nonprofit that promotes politics aligning with President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement among students. In the weeks following Kirk’s death, TPUSA received over 121,000 chapter requests.

The decision follows a failed attempt last fall and a renewed proposal that addresses previous concerns raised by SGA. TPUSA’s primary presence on college campuses came from Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour,” a series of events hosted by TPUSA chapters where Kirk held public debates. TPUSA continues to fund lecture speakers and touring events with other conservative pundits.

The approval was part of a regularly scheduled SGA meeting and drew over 50 attendees, filling nearly every chair, as attendees directed questions to Dudasik, who was presenting and seeking approval. SGA president Davionne Jakes reminded speakers to keep the discussion about the organization rather than Dudasik’s beliefs and one student was cut short. The vote was private and totals for and against the approval have not been disclosed.

Though the club has been approved by SGA, there are still some paperwork requirements before the organization can start holding events. Dudasik noted events should begin in approximately two weeks.

Roughly a dozen students spoke during a public comment session prior to the SGA vote. Chief among raised concerns was the organization’s official affiliation with TPUSA, as opposed to forming an independent conservative club.

EU Junior Jeanne Mardegan, in an interview with The Leader, highlighted the national organization’s “openly discriminatory” nature, alleging the local chapter could never truly diverge from the national organization ideologically.

“This is a school about inclusivity, and Elmhurst stands for that,” said Mardegan. “It just feels like they’re going against what they stand for.”

Affiliation with TPUSA provides the club with significant funding advantages. Dudasik claims that, besides requiring approval from national headquarters, funding is not capped for chapter events.

“Basically, the sky’s the limit for my budget,” said Dudasik.

EU’s chapter does not intend to use COOP funds for its events.

A student from the gallery, who chose to remain anonymous for personal safety, questioned whether that could create a hierarchy of clubs on campus.

“You say that you want equal discussion, but if you have much more funding than other clubs, how are you going to promote equality between different views?” she asked.

Dudasik did not directly respond to the question, but said the chapter is given materials by the national organization to utilize to spread the chapter’s message.

English professor Bridget O’Rourke referenced TPUSA’s platforming of Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed two protestors at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, to raise ethical concerns about funding (Rittenhouse was found not guilty of charges related to the incident, though civil litigation is pending). TPUSA featured Rittenhouse at their 2021 AmericaFest event, appearing at a panel labelled “Kenosha on Camera.”

“I think speakers like that are not ones that I want on campus,” said Dudasik.

The chapter’s faculty advisor, music professor David DeVasto, argues conservative thought is rare on campus. In particular, he claims guest lecturers are rarely openly conservative.

“The disparity of thought is really one-sided,” said DeVasto. “So with Turning Point, being able to provide their own speakers and not be dependent upon a biased board that’s approving the current guest speakers provides balance.”

Multiple students questioned Dudasik about the chapter’s different views from its national affiliations, and whether such distinction was truly possible. Freshman Aritzy Cabrera Olvera in the gallery asked what values this chapter will hold.

“Elmhurst is known for being diverse. Which goes against basically what Turning Point has promoted. So what exactly are the things that you are pushing on to this organization on campus?” asked Cabrera Olvera.

“Turning Point’s mission statement is to promote activism, free markets and limited government. That is what they were designed for. Any values that came to be later on, while they may have endorsed, supported, or made comment on, is not what they’re about,” said Dudasik.

Dudasik suggested that he sought to moderate his initial proposal since initially applying in the fall. He said he is separating the chapter from Kirk’s beliefs, despite his personal admiration for Kirk, which inspired him to found the chapter to begin with.

“After that rejection, my next thought was, what can we change to appeal to a predominantly liberal campus. So, kind of ways we can tone it down a little bit so people feel more welcome or less offended as well,” said Dudasik in an interview after the meeting.

DeVasto echoed this, stating the chapter is not representative of everything he, or the national organization, believes.

“This is not me and any of my political views,” said DeVasto. “I see myself as a liaison, and I serve the community at Elmhurst, and I value all students of all views, and I care deeply for our student body.”

He then went on to highlight Kirk’s debate strategy as a point of admiration.

“[Kirk] elevated [others] and allowed them to voice anything. And I admire that. I would like to see that more from the other side. Where is that happening? I don’t feel like it’s really happening in good faith at Elmhurst campus,” said DeVasto.

The opposition still isn’t convinced Dudasik and DeVasto’s claims will be followed through with.

“I feel like there was a lot of evading questions from the [TPUSA chapter] president, but I think that goes to show that he was contradicting himself a lot with what he was believing personally and what Turning Point represents,” said EU Junior Sara Walsh. “If you’re going to use the Turning Point name, I would assume you align with everything that they openly stand for.”

O’Rourke agrees, arguing, “The student organization had not yet formed, so it’s very difficult to point to any specific actions of this group.”

“So what we have to judge them by is by the actions of the national organization, by the dark money that’s funding them, by the Professor Watchlist that intentionally targets faculty for harassment,” said O’Rourke.

O’Rourke’s mention of the “Professor Watchlist” refers to a website listing teaching staff and universities who have made comments opposing TPUSA.

Cabrera Olvera, beyond asking a question to Dudasik during the meeting, helped organize a petition that received over 650 signatures by Saturday attempting to block the approval of the chapter. Coming from an immigrant family, she said TPUSA is against her background, which inspired her to start the petition.

“I think [the petition] shows that the majority of the students here are not okay with this,” said Cabrera Olvera.

After SGA voted to approve the club, they allocated time for student Maia Armstrong to speak. Shortly after she began, SGA called the session to order and ended her comment early. SGA did not provide reasoning in the meeting, instead opting to email The Leader a statement after the fact.

“As outlined in our Code of Ethics, members of the University community are expected to engage in discourse that is respectful and refrains from disparaging or inflammatory remarks,” said Jakes in the statement. “The comment referencing the ‘devil’ had the potential to create further division among members of our student body, which is not something SGA supports or promotes.”

SGA also noted time constraints.

SGA approves clubs regularly throughout the semester during their meetings and did not make a special announcement regarding the vote for TPUSA. This left some students surprised to hear the vote was being called at all.

“I didn’t even know this was happening until a few days ago. So I’m very grateful for my class because we really threw this petition together in just 24 hours. I really think it shows that we care about this, but we need to know the issues going on in our school,” said Mardegan.

“I had no idea this was even happening,” added junior Jose Delgado. 

SGA explained that the approval of the chapter followed a “clearly structured and consistent process that aligns with University policy.” 

“As stated in the student handbook, student organizations that are consistent with the University’s mission and values may be established, and recognition by the University through SGA does not imply endorsement or disapproval of the organization’s viewpoints. Rather, recognition ensures that organizations are able to function within the University framework,” Davionne Jakes said in the statement.

O’Rourke offered another perspective.

“This group, as a national organization, is not consistent with our values of stewardship, or community, or social responsibility. The students spoke to all those issues yesterday. The students spoke very loudly and I don’t think they were heard, or recognized, or adequately responded to,” said O’Rourke.

Cabrera Olvera isn’t satisfied with the transparency throughout the process: “If they’re going to start a club like that, they should be really transparent about exactly what they’re going to do, how they’re going to do it, what exactly they believe, and what their intentions are with everything.”