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Student government unanimously rejected club’s application
Point Park University administrators plan to intervene and educate student government leaders on viewpoint-neutral standards following a unanimous student senate vote to block a conservative club from gaining official campus status. However, it is not clear that school officials will actually approve the club.
The university responded to an email inquiry from The College Fix regarding a warning letter sent by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The national free speech group urged the university to overrule the Student Government Association after its members rejected a campus chapter of Turning Point USA.
The administration stated it will address the student senate’s criteria, but noted that the student government operates as an autonomous group at the Pittsburgh private university.
“Point Park University does not apply viewpoint or ideological standards when evaluating student organizations, and we believe that student organization recognition should be conducted through clear, consistently applied, and viewpoint-neutral standards,” Louis Corsaro stated via email to The Fix.
Corsaro is the managing director of university marketing and public relations for the university.
“The Point Park University Student Government Association is an independent student organization. The University intends to work with SGA to educate its leadership on the University’s recognition standards and deliberative expectations,” Corsaro stated.
“We encourage SGA to revisit this matter should a current student interested in forming a Turning Point USA Chapter at Point Park University choose to resubmit an application for recognition,” he said.
The rejection came after a tense meeting in late April, where members questioned club leaders about its affiliation with the national free market student group and brought up quotes from Charlie Kirk, The Globe reported. Members were critical of comments Turning Point field coordinator Colin Dowd made and his actions during a February event.
“Other members of SGA read hateful quotes of murdered past national TPUSA CEO Charlie Kirk and comments from a video Dowd posted of the incident at the tabling event, all of which bullied LGBTQ+ people, women, people of color and people with disabilities,” the student newspaper reported, without giving any specific examples or citations.
Turning Point ‘strongly condemns’ the denial
Turning Point USA national representatives criticized the student senate’s actions.
“Turning Point USA strongly condemns the Point Park University SGA’s blatant viewpoint discrimination in denying our student chapter recognition due to its opposition to Charlie Kirk’s principles and Colin Dowd’s personal views,” Matt Shupe stated via email to The Fix.
Shupe is a national spokesperson for the free-market student group.
“The SGA has shown it has zero interest in free speech or intellectual diversity,” Shupe stated. “The lack of recognition has already made it harder for our chapter to reserve space and operate on campus, but our Pittsburgh students remain resilient and will not be silenced.”
The national conservative organization stated it is prepared to take further steps if the local student senate does not change course.
“If the administration does not overrule this brazenly anti-free speech decision by the deadline, we will work with our students to hold the university accountable through every available means,” Shupe told The Fix.
While the school is private, students may still have contractual rights to free expression, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
“Yes, we have received a response from the University, which said, ‘The University intends to work with SGA to educate its leadership on the University’s recognition standards and deliberative expectations,'” Garrett Gravley stated via email to The Fix.
Gravley is the program counsel for campus rights advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
“We are grateful for them taking our concerns seriously and welcome any collaborative opportunity to ensure student groups maintain expressive freedom,” Gravley stated.
The free speech watchdog group stated it will closely monitor the campus environment over the summer and see what happens in the fall semester.
MORE: Lawrence U. reverses course, approves Turning Point USA
