{"id":15748,"date":"2025-11-08T12:30:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T19:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/fort-lewis-college-student-board-reverses-decision-on-turning-point-usa-chapter\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:50:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:50:33","slug":"fort-lewis-college-student-board-reverses-decision-on-turning-point-usa-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/fort-lewis-college-student-board-reverses-decision-on-turning-point-usa-chapter\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Lewis College student board reverses decision on Turning Point USA chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Fort
Fort Lewis College senior Jonah Flynn spoke before the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College emergency board meeting Friday to reconsider the Turning Point USA chapter at the school. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

After an initial denial, a Turning Point USA chapter was granted registered student organization status during an emergency Associated Students of Fort Lewis College board meeting Friday night on campus.<\/p>\n

Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization that promotes conservative politics on high school and college campuses, was founded in 2012 by political activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed<\/a> Sept. 10 on the Utah Valley University campus.<\/p>\n

During a contentious four-hour ASFLC board meeting<\/a> last week \u2013 where more than 30 students spoke in opposition \u2013 the board voted 5 to 2 to deny Turning Point USA official status.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s emergency board meeting was held to revisit that decision after pushback from the group\u2019s proposed leaders and outcry from some conservative students and community members.<\/p>\n

A petition<\/a> opposing the chapter gathered nearly 500 signatures. A second petition<\/a> calling for the student board\u2019s decision to be overturned collected more than 1,300.<\/p>\n

Colorado Politics<\/a> reported that Colorado House Republicans sent FLC President Heather Shotton a letter urging her to reconsider the student board\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

Fire safety regulations allowed only 44 people in the chamber Friday, leaving more than 60 students and community members waiting outside.<\/p>\n

Several \u201cMake America Great Again\u201d hats and \u201cWe are Charlie\u201d shirts \u2013 referencing Turning Point\u2019s founder \u2013 stood out in the crowd gathered in the Student Union lobby.<\/p>\n

Friday night\u2019s meeting lasted just 30 minutes \u2013 significantly shorter than the previous session.<\/p>\n

\"Fort
Fort Lewis College senior Jonah Flynn spoke Friday night during an emergency meeting of the student governing board to reconsider a Turning Point USA chapter. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The meeting\u2019s quick pace and limited capacity allowed only a handful of people to speak.<\/p>\n

Two FLC students spoke in opposition to Turning Point USA becoming a registered student organization.<\/p>\n

Four people, excluding Flynn, spoke in support \u2013 two students and two community members.<\/p>\n

One student offered a neutral perspective, alluding to disagreements with the group\u2019s ethics but welcoming it to campus as a registered organization.<\/p>\n

Flynn said he wanted to reiterate \u2013 \u201cin the spirit of reassurance\u201d \u2013 that the group does not exist to discriminate or harass, but to honor \u201cthe spirit of free speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want to keep the conversation going in order to shun hate and violence,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hate what happened to Charlie Kirk. We don\u2019t want that to happen anymore, but we don\u2019t think the solution is to just stop talking about it so that nobody kills us. We think the solution is to keep talking about things, so we can make conversing and debating a more acceptable way to go about society \u2013 so we can all just agree to disagree, perhaps, or be able to talk to each other without hating each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the meeting, Flynn told The Durango Herald<\/em> he was excited the club had been accepted and said it will \u201ccarry the torch forward for Charlie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad that the student senators can move on and go back to normalcy, and I\u2019m especially excited that so many people came out to support the new chapter,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople want to be able to freely discuss and debate the big issues. Now they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Associated
Associated Students of Fort Lewis College board members, led by President Asa Worthington, gathered Friday night for an emergency student government meeting at the Fort Lewis College Student Union to reconsider whether to instate a Turning Point USA chapter on campus. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Student Lydia Faith Ashley described Turning Point representatives as being \u201cnot only underprepared but utterly unserious\u201d when they spoke during the Oct. 29 meeting.<\/p>\n

Ashley also expressed concern about the group having indicated an intent to switch gender-neutral bathrooms on campus back to gender-specific ones.<\/p>\n

Ashley said the group was rightfully denied official status the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurning Point was heard and they were denied,\u201d Ashley said. \u201cThey were not silenced, and they were not threatened with discipline. They were even offered the opportunity to continue meeting on campus. The social consequences of their actions are not violations of their freedom of speech. \u2026 They say they want freedom of speech and to keep the conversation going, but the truth is this Turning Point USA wants institutional protection so that they can spread their objectionable, backward views.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six of the seven ASFLC senators voted by secret ballot to instate the chapter. The seventh senator joined virtually and was unable to vote. ASFLC President Asa Worthington called it a \u201cunanimous decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Board members gave no rationale for their change of heart.<\/p>\n

Flynn and his supporters cheered as they exited the chamber. In the Student Union lobby, they were met with a mix of boos and applause.<\/p>\n

Board members were asked to remain in the chamber after the meeting to allow tensions outside to settle.<\/p>\n

Some ASFLC board members were harassed and threatened after their initial denial of the chapter, following the circulation of a video showing their nameplates posted on social media by a supporter of the Turning Point chapter.<\/p>\n

Flynn publicly apologized for board members \u201ccatching heat\u201d in the wake of the last meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that I personally gave you too much heat, but I know you got a lot of heat for it, so I\u2019ll just say sorry on behalf of anybody that gave you heat,\u201d he told the board.<\/p>\n

\"Fort
Fort Lewis College senior Fi Eikenberry spoke in opposition to a Turning Point USA chapter being instated at FLC on Oct. 29. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

FLC senior Fi Eikenberry, who opposed the group at the previous meeting, had to wait in the lobby during Friday\u2019s session because of capacity limits.<\/p>\n

Eikenberry expressed feeling anxious about the reversal and concerned the group may not follow college regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m worried about all the people that this will hurt,\u201d Eikenberry said. \u201cThis will endanger someone, and people won\u2019t see that until it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

During public comment, Flynn said safety concerns expressed by students were \u201cmisguided,\u201d and that conservatives and Turning Point members should be the ones fearing for their safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople that are saying they\u2019re concerned about their safety in relation to Turning Point events are talking about some kind of fictional mental safety, or something like that,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026There\u2019s no real danger coming to any liberals attending Turning Point events. I mean, who are the people who are getting hurt? Who are people getting killed at Turning Point events? It\u2019s not a liberal: it\u2019s Charlie Kirk \u2013 it\u2019s a conservative guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flynn called the FLC Turning Point chapter a \u201cpolitical club,\u201d despite also repeatedly describing it during both meetings as a \u201cnonpartisan\u201d group.<\/p>\n

Another supporter initially called the proposed FLC chapter a \u201cright wing\u201d group, then backtracked saying it is \u201cnot even that partisan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fort
Fort Lewis College senior Jonah Flynn, checking his phone, and a group of Turning Point USA supporters gathered to chat and celebrate outside the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College chamber room Friday night. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

FLC issued a statement Friday in response to the decision.<\/p>\n

The college thanked ASFLC for its leadership in addressing a complex issue and expressed support for students \u201cdeveloping their understanding of free expression, inclusion, and civic responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis outcome reflects ASFLC\u2019s commitment to fair governance, educational growth, and consistent policy application,\u201d the statement read. \u201cRecognition does not imply endorsement of any organization\u2019s viewpoints; all RSOs are expected to follow college policies and uphold community standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worthington said he was proud of his fellow board members and senators for their poise in dealing with a contentious topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Senate voted and got work done, and I\u2019m very proud of their ability to uphold their professionalism and their composure and do what needs to be done,\u201d he said. \u201cI think they did an excellent job.\u201d<\/p>\n

epond@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

A previous version of this story erred in saying the first vote was unanimous. The first vote was 5 to 2 to deny Turning Point USA official status. The error was made in editing. Also, the fire safety regulations allowed only 44 people in the chamber Friday. A previous version of this story said it was only about 30 people allowed in the chamber<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"More
More than 60 students and community members were denied entry into Friday night\u2019s emergency student government session at the Fort Lewis College Student Union. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More
More than 60 students and community members were denied entry into Friday night\u2019s emergency student government session at the Fort Lewis College Student Union. (Elizabeth Pond\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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