Belmont University in Nashville rejected a student’s efforts to form a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) student chapter on campus.
Mya Conrad, a student at Belmont, expressed interest in creating a new TPUSA student chapter on campus by submitting a rationale paper on why such a group should be created.
Conrad, after submitting her proposal, received an email back from Jordan Cooper, Belmont’s assistant director of Student Engagement, who said, “Turning Point USA does not satisfy the guidelines and policies for new organizations” because TPUSA “was determined to be a partisan national advocacy organization.
The email noted that the university only approves student organizations that “fulfill the university’s commitment to Christian standards of morality, ethics, and conduct” and support the university’s “educational efforts and does not serve as an affiliate of a partisan national advocacy campaign,” among other requirements.
“Therefore, we are unable to approve a Belmont branch of the organization,” the email obtained by TPUSA added.
“I love Belmont and have found it to be a quality education, but parents are deceived into believing Belmont is a conservative Christian school,” Conrad said in a statement.
TPUSA’s mission, as stated on its website, is as follows:
Turning Point USA’s mission is to educate students about the importance of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government. TPUSA activists are the community organizers of the right.
TPUSA notes that it previously had a presence on Belmont’s campus in the past; however, it was “removed after student members had ‘get-togethers’ during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was allegedly against the school policy at the time regarding social gatherings.”
At the same time, TPUSA notes, “other university-approved student organizations participated in Black Lives Matter protests throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which “did not align with the University’s Covid policy at the time,” however, “did not receive any repercussions.”
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Belmont University Students” by Belmont University.
