Editor’s Note: This is a developing story. The Point will continue to update as we receive comments from the TPUSA applicants and the Associated Student Body.
In an email to Point Loma Nazarene University’s student body from President Kerry Fulcher, it was announced that the Associated Student Body (ASB) rejected a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) student club at PLNU. According to the email, a motion to establish the club was brought to a vote within the ASB Board of Directors, but it failed to pass.
Turning Point USA signs distributed during Charlie Kirk
Memorial on Oct 14. Photo by Spencer Gorka.
Fulcher said that the primary reason for its rejection was ASB’s concern regarding TPUSA’s “Professor Watchlist,” a list sourced by news stories that detail instances of “radical behavior” among college professors, as described by ProfessorWatchlist.org.
“While the applicants indicated they would not participate in the watchlist, their application included phrasing that mirrors language used on TPUSA’s website in connection with it,” Fulcher said in the email. “That practice is not aligned with ASB’s purpose of fostering constructive communication and interaction between students, faculty and administration.”
When TPUSA was denied twice by ASB in 2021, ASB’s president at the time, Ella Malone, believed it was dismissed because TPUSA’s “Professor Watchlist” didn’t follow their mission statement to foster constructive communication.
According to the email, the applicants said they would affiliate with “TPUSA Faith,” a self-described program to “eliminate wokeism from the American pulpit.” Fulcher said that this affiliation is not permitted under the University’s Church and Parachurch Policy, which ensures that outside churches and ministry organizations do not mimic efforts already being made by campus ministry teams.
“Never Surrender” and “Turning Point USA” signs were next to each seat in the Arc, where the memorial took place on Oct 14. Photo by Ava Bailey-Klugh.
Fulcher said that while community members asked the university to influence the outcome of ASB’s decision, he said that it’s protocol that it is solely ASB’s decision.
Ginger Friess, a first-year biology-chemistry major, who would have been the president of PLNU’s TPUSA chapter, said she did not wish to make a public statement until consulting with her team.
Fulcher concluded the email with an encouragement to not lead to division but respond with “humility, grace and love.”
“I also want to be clear that students who hold conservative views are valued members of this community,” Fulcher said. “There are conservative chartered clubs that are able to participate fully in the shared life of our campus. I’m committed to supporting these students with the same spirit of respect, consistency and hospitality that guides how we care for all student organizations at PLNU.”
Kaelyn VanderSpek 
Sydney Brammer