Last night, Loyola confirmed that the Student Government Association denied Turning Point USA’s application to become a chartered campus organization. In a statement posted shortly after coverage from Fox 8, the university said SGA “leads a peer-to-peer process for recognizing new student organizations” and confirmed that Turning Point USA’s application “was not approved.” Loyola added that student leaders of the group were informed of their right to appeal the decision.
The story gained wider attention after Fox 8 cited reporting from The Maroon, Loyola’s student-run newspaper, which first reported the denial following the Oct. 15 SGA Senate meeting. Fox News later covered the decision as well.
TPUSA at Loyola responded to the denial on Instagram, sharing details from its presentation to SGA and emphasizing their alignment with Jesuit values of “faith and justice.”
“Here is the long-overdue debrief of what really happened in the room before SGA,” the post said. “We began the meeting by presenting who we are, what we stand for, and why we are pursuing a charter on campus. Following our presentation, the SGA Senate had the opportunity to ask us questions.”
According to the post, senators asked how the group differs from other organizations on campus and how it would “assimilate into campus life, given Loyola’s diverse environment of students and faculty from all backgrounds.”
The chapter said that its goal is to “offer a space where our faith can be shared and where students are welcomed to engage in open and sometimes polarizing conversations without fear of being ‘cancelled.’”
“We emphasized that, to the best of our ability, we will not hate or marginalize anyone for holding different or opposing perspectives and values,” the post said. “We asked that SGA trust us to cultivate our own space on campus responsibly and to believe that we are not here to harm our community, but rather to share in and enrich it through diversity of thought.”
Turning Point USA also claimed in its post that another student organization protested during SGA deliberations on Oct. 15.
“Members of this opposing group had the opportunity to speak against us, sharing their concerns about TPUSA as an organization and our request to be chartered,” the group wrote.
The post concluded that the chapter plans to move forward with an appeal.
“Our work doesn’t stop here. We will continue to advocate for the approval of this organization and stand firm in our commitment to free expression and student representation,” the post said.
The Maroon will continue to follow this story as it develops.