There have been three attempts at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego to get a TPUSA chapter. The most recent rejection was announced via email on November 5th. According to Fox News, which obtained the email, school officials expressed concerns about TPUSA's Professor Watchlist.
The Point reports that the previous tries to approve the chapter in 2021 was also rejected because of the watchlist. It's a listing of instructors who have been “exposed and documented” for discriminating against conservative students. The school believed the watchlist was against “fostering constructive communication and interaction between students, faculty, and administration,” even though the student said that they would not participate in it.
There has been a significant uptick in TPUSA chapter requests since the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September. Fox News reported that there were more than 120,000 inquiries for starting new chapters after Kirk’s memorial service.
Brooklyn Stratton is one of the Point Loma students that wants a TPUSA chapter. She would have been the chapter’s vice president.
"I just wanted to make a community for other students, who are also feeling this way, to get together and talk about it because what we do in college is going to predict the rest of our lives," says Stratton. "I feel like not giving people the opportunity to explore which side of politics they're on doesn't align with the Constitution or free speech at all."
Ginger Friess, who would have been president of the Point Loma chapter, was confused when she found out about the latest rejection.
"I sat there and just thought ‘where are conservative Christian voices actually heard on campus’?" recalls Friess. "Charlie's death revealed a spiritual war, the spiritual war happening in our world. I think that politics have become more and more polarized, and Charlie's death revealed that there is just a bigger conversation to be had."
Point Lama has a “B.R.E.A.K.” club that focuses on gender equality and a “Center for Justice and Reconciliation” group that highlights injustices in race and immigration. However, the Christian-identifying university does not want to affiliate in TPUSA Faith because their goals are against the school’s policy.
Stratton said that her school is "trying hard to stay neutral," but this is not the way to be neutral.
"I think it's going to be detrimental to our society if we're not confident in talking to people with respect," says Stratton. "Is my administration at Point Loma Nazarene University giving a space for not only diversity of being, but diversity of thought?"
