{"id":50786,"date":"2025-11-13T05:19:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T05:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/50786\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T05:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T05:19:10","slug":"california-university-denies-students-tpusa-chapter-bid-for-a-third-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/50786\/","title":{"rendered":"California university denies students’ TPUSA chapter bid for a third time"},"content":{"rendered":"

A third attempt by students at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego to establish a school-supported Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter<\/a> was denied by the university\u2019s Associated Student Body (ASB) Board of Directors.<\/p>\n

The decision was announced in an email sent to students by university President Kerry Fulcher Nov. 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt silenced when I got that email,\u201d said Luke Cole, the elected secretary of the chapter and a third-year student at the university. \u201cI felt like I couldn\u2019t speak anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The email, obtained by Fox News Digital, said the motion was brought to a vote by the ASB Board of Directors and failed to pass after a review process. The email expressed concerns over the organization\u2019s Professor Watchlist. According to TPUSA\u2019s website, the Professor Watchlist aims to \u201cexpose and document\u201d professors who discriminate against conservative students.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the applicants indicated they would not participate in the watchlist, their application included phrasing that mirrors language used on TPUSA\u2019s website in connection with it,\u201d Fulcher wrote in the email. \u201cThat practice is not aligned with ASB\u2019s purpose of fostering constructive communication and interaction between students, faculty, and administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials at Point Loma Nazarene University denied the students\u2019 request for a TPUSA chapter bid for a third time. Shutterstock \/ tokar<\/p>\n

The email also cited the club\u2019s intent to affiliate with TPUSA Faith, an initiative that aims to \u201cunite the Church\u201d and \u201celiminate wokeism,\u201d according to its website. Fulcher said that was a violation of the university\u2019s church and parachurch policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis policy is in place to ensure that outside churches or ministry organizations, however well-intentioned, do not duplicate efforts already being led by our campus ministry team and use university resources to advance their own programming,\u201d Fulcher wrote in the email.<\/p>\n

Fulcher said the authority to approve or deny student-initiated clubs rests solely with the ASB Board of Directors. <\/p>\n

A chair with a freedom shirt sits on stage, ahead of a Turning Point USA event in Logan, Utah, September 30, 2025. REUTERS<\/p>\n

According to PLNU\u2019s website, the school hosts a \u201cB.R.E.A.K.\u201d club which \u201cemphasizes the importance of gender equality on a school campus.\u201d Hosts discuss issues such as \u201cprivilege\u201d and \u201cgender justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The school also hosts a \u201cCenter for Justice and Reconciliation\u201d group that focuses on \u201cimmigration and racial justice\u201d and allows students to \u201cprocess injustices in their communities,\u201d according to the website.<\/p>\n

The decision has left students crestfallen. Ginger Friess, a first-year student at the university, told Fox News Digital that, after Charlie Kirk\u2019s death<\/a>, she felt called to serve her campus through founding a TPUSA chapter.<\/p>\n

Charlie Kirk speaks at Culture War Turning Point USA event at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio on October 29, 2019. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it was about finding truth and making space for that on this campus,\u201d said Friess. \u201cI watched students and faculty, who identified as Christian, celebrate human death on campus \u2026 and I was deeply troubled by that.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Kirk] invited all people, all students on campus to an open mic. We want to open up the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Stratton, a third-year student at PLNU and elected vice president of TPUSA Point Loma, said she and other young conservatives felt targeted on college campuses after Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Stratton said that conservatives on campus felt targeted following Kirk\u2019s assassination. FOX News Digital<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to make a community for other students who [were] also feeling this way to get together,\u201d said Stratton. \u201cCollege is our formative years. \u2026 I feel like not giving people the opportunity to explore which side of politics they\u2019re on doesn\u2019t align with free speech at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The formation of a TPUSA chapter was also rejected twice in 2021, according to the campus\u2019 student newspaper.<\/p>\n

Associate Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Lora Flemming shared in a statement with Fox News Digital that the university is a place where \u201cstudents from a variety of backgrounds are welcomed into a community shaped by faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden Gymnasium at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California, USA is seen on February 1, 2025. Shutterstock \/ Koeppen Photo<\/p>\n

\u201cThe outcome of this club application should not be misunderstood as a departure from our Christian mission or a rejection of conservative perspectives,\u201d Flemming said in the statement. \u201cCalling into question the university\u2019s Christian identity or discrediting our ASB leaders because of disagreement over this club decision is not reflective of how Christians are called to engage with one another in truth and grace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friess shared that her grandfather was one of Turning Point USA\u2019s<\/a> first donors in 2012, motivating her to begin a chapter herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, I hope to create loving people. People that are willing to have the boldness to advocate for the eternal goodness for others,\u201d said Friess. \u201cAnd also to equip conservative students with a heart for Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

A chair with a shirt and hat honoring the late Charlie Kirk is seen on stage during a Turning Point USA event at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) on November 10, 2025 in Berkeley, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Despite the students\u2019 efforts being denied, they made clear this was not the end for TPUSA in Point Loma. The students shared that they were looking into the appeal process and meeting off campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy school is really trying hard to stay neutral, but the way they\u2019re staying neutral really isn\u2019t neutral at all,\u201d said Stratton. \u201cI guess the question I\u2019m wondering is, \u2018Is my administration at Point Loma Nazarene University giving a space for not only diversity of being but diversity of thought?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fox News Digital contacted PLNU ASB\u2019s President Kenzie Lopez and Director of Student Relations Nathan Blanco. Blanco declined to comment and Lopez did not respond before the time of publication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A third attempt by students at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego to establish a school-supported Turning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,20391,4228,32623,32624,13,3586],"class_list":{"0":"post-50786","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-charlie-kirk","12":"tag-colleges-and-universities","13":"tag-conservatives","14":"tag-erika-kirk","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-us-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}