STUDENT COUNCIL POSTPONES TPUSA CHARTER VOTE

CLUB APPROVAL DELAYED AMID STUDENT PETITION

Turning Point USA submitted a club charter to Student Life and Civic Engagement earlier this month.

While the group was seen tabling and participating in open discussions at the Main Mall through March, it had yet to register as an official club on campus. The club charter signifies the group has completed the first steps of securing a faculty advisor, at least five student members, and a written constitution that aligns with the MHCC Clubs and Organizations Manual.

After submission, the club’s goals and constitution is reviewed by ASMHCC members for approval. On April 10, Turning Point USA members stood before the student council for questioning. In the end, the vote for approval was moved to the following week on April 17th after a few council members expressed concerns regarding the constitution and student safety.

In the days following the ASMHCC decision to delay the vote, increasing tension between TPUSA and other members of the MHCC community have amplified those concerns.

Casandra “Cassie” Rodriguez, the proposed club president, said they received threats from a specific student while tabling. And students may have seen another heated altercation between TPUSA and the First Nation Peoples Club during the Spring Club Fair. On both occasions, campus public safety was notified and parties were escorted from the event. One TPUSA club member stated,  “We had a student from another club threaten us with gun violence and tell us that he was glad that he saw Charlie Kirk die, and that he would shoot us if he had the opportunity to, and that he wanted to eradicate white people.”

Since the public altercations, a group of students started a petition against TPUSA organizing as a club on campus. These students presented the petition to ASMHCC executives on April 17, with more than 100 student signatures collected in under 24 hours. More than 20 people, including students and staff, also gathered at the ASMHCC meeting to speak about their concerns.

“MHCC prides itself on its inclusivity, its diversity, and being a safe space for everyone"

“MHCC prides itself on its inclusivity, its diversity, and being a safe space for everyone — and I want that to be true. And I feel like it really has been true until recent events,” one student said. “Students here are afraid. Staff members are afraid. I also work at the preschool, and there are students who just don’t show up because they’re afraid of ICE and Turning Point USA’s presence on campus.”

Another student expressed worries about not having another accessible and local school for their specific program. “[Allowing TPUSA to be a club] would be taking away education opportunities from people who have already put in so much effort to be here — because they saw something in this community and felt like they would be safe here,” the student said.

“I would not want to come back to a school and teach a community that enables and preaches hate. That not only allows it, not to just enter, but welcomes it arm-in-arm,” an MHCC faculty member said.

Just as community members have expressed concerns that the presence of the group is a threat to campus inclusivity, members of the organization tell a different story. They argue that the characterization of their club as a “hate group” is a fundamental misunderstanding of their intent and their actions on campus.

“People are telling you about who we are and what we do, but I have been here from the beginning,” a TPUSA club member said. “We have not done one thing to anybody to make them feel inferior — not one thing. And if we have, I would love for you to come talk to me and the [TPUSA] group president. I don’t hate any single one of you. I joined the Marine Corps and served four years, and six years in the National Guard. I would give my life for every single one of you because you are an American. We have not done a single thing to harm anybody; we have been the ones that have endured hate.”

The ASMHCC student council remains committed to hearing from both sides. The vote for club approval has been delayed again to the next meeting, scheduled for April 24, to allow for a review of public input. Students and staff will have an opportunity to share their concerns at that time.