Student senate rejects Turning Point USA chapter re-establishment at California Lutheran University

A student senate at a southern California university has rejected the establishment of a Turning Point USA chapter.

In a 2-11-1 secret-ballot vote, the Associated Students of California Lutheran University Senate rejected the re-establishment of a Turning Point USA chapter on Monday, The Echo, the university’s student news outlet, reported. 

Over 50 people attended in a standing room only vote. Carlos Daniel Zaragosa, ASCLU Commuter senator, told The Echo he was not surprised the TPUSA club was rejected. 

“I wasn’t personally surprised by the outcome,” Carlos Daniel Zaragosa told The Echo. “At the end of the day, we do try to be fair, impartial and we want to see all clubs succeed. But we will notice when a club is trying to push a certain rhetoric, and the last thing we need is controversy here on this campus.”

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Tristan Quezada, a freshman who would have been the club’s president, said, “Turning Point USA is an organization that is focused on public serving and civil dialogue,” adding, “I think it’s important to have a safe space for students who have similar ways of thinking like us… we don’t have a safe place for other fellow conservatives.” 

Luke Taylor, a sophomore who would have been the club’s vice president, said he was asked by Turning Point USA staff about restarting the club after the public assassination of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. 

He also said the prospective chapter, which does not yet have an academic advisor, surpassed the five-member requirement for Senate consideration with seven “confirmed members.”

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Taylor said a TPUSA representative told him more than 20 students from California Lutheran had applied.

“We don’t affiliate with any political party. It’s mainly about the word of God and the way we should use it to look through our politics and our government,” Taylor said. 

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The university previously had an active Turning Point USA chapter, but it dissolved in October 2021, according to the report.

Taylor said that “rebranding” the name of the club could help them win the Senate vote, but hopes that that will not have to happen.

“No matter what your belief is, I think you should be able to speak it,” Taylor said. “That’s why we live in this country. And to hear all those people saying that we’re shutting them down when our organization gives people a microphone? It doesn’t matter that we were shut down today. God is still God. God is king. We believe in Him. His purpose is great, and we’ll continue fighting.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Associated Students of California Lutheran University Senate for comment. The university declined comment.