Turning Point chapter head rips Christian school for banning political groups after org forced underground

A pupil astatine a Christian assemblage successful California said her Turning Point USA section was barred from being recognized arsenic an authoritative chapter, which the schoolhouse explained is its authoritative argumentation for "political advocacy initiatives." 

Sadie Burnett is successful her 3rd twelvemonth astatine Vanguard University, a tiny backstage schoolhouse successful Costa Mesa, California. She is the president of the school's Turning Point USA chapter, which is presently unrecognized by the school.

"Since 2023, we've had a lively and precise progressive beingness connected campus," Burnett told Fox News Digital. "We've hosted respective events, we were capable to unreserved astatine nine rush. We had students precise enthusiastic astir our beingness being there. It was adjacent thing that made america basal retired arsenic a Christian university, was the information that Turning Point was practiced, and it was not lone practiced, but it was besides celebrated."

However, the schoolhouse made an authoritative determination to halt accepting governmental clubs, and alternatively funnel immoderate governmental activism oregon events done a process that involves the administration. 

Sadie Burnett, section president of Turning Point USA astatine Vanguard University (R), holds a Charlie Kirk motion connected an chartless date.  (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

STUDENT SENATE REJECTS TURNING POINT USA CHAPTER RE-ESTABLISHMENT AT CALIFORNIA LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY

"We received an email implicit the summertime stating that the schoolhouse was taking a caller absorption with pupil organizations," Burnett said. "They're going wholly apolitical, giving this thought that Christians bash not needfully beryllium successful politics, which is absorbing due to the fact that they bash person a governmental subject department, which I'm a portion of."

Burnett said that she has met with the schoolhouse administration, trying to travel to an statement that would let Turning Point to operate. She said she's been unopen down repeatedly.

The radical is capable to stitchery connected campus, but lone outside, and not successful immoderate authoritative capableness arsenic a blimpish group.

LOYOLA NEW ORLEANS STUDENT COURT OVERTURNS PREVIOUS DECISION BARRING TURNING POINT CHAPTER

"We're not 'conservative,' we're conscionable students hanging out," Burnett explained, adding that immoderate section members consciousness unsafe being retired successful the unfastened fixed the "anti-conservative" sentiments connected field and online.

Registered pupil organizations tin big events connected campus, on with a litany of different privileges not granted to unaffiliated groups.

A assemblage gathers for a vigil hosted by Turning Point USA astatine Vanguard University successful September 2025 aft Charlie Kirk's assassination.  (Micah Kunkle, Carson Van Vooren)

"The quality betwixt being an unaffiliated section versus being a registered pupil enactment is that chapters oregon organizations that are registered, they tin publication rooms for meetings good successful beforehand to marque definite that they person a abstraction to speak, they person a abstraction to big events," Burnett said. "They're allowed to person assemblage funding. They tin unreserved astatine nine unreserved and interact with students, interact with new-coming students that are coming successful [and] prospective students."

COLORADO COLLEGE STUDENT GOVERNMENT REVERSES COURSE ON TPUSA CHAPTER AFTER EMERGENCY MEETING

Burnett said that the section can't big tabling events, wherever different students tin attack and inquire them questions, which she defines arsenic "one of the bosom and cores to Turning Point" arsenic a whole. After all, she said, colleges utilized to beryllium known arsenic places wherever students were encouraged to freely statement ideas.

"If I wanted to spell to a assemblage oregon a assemblage that was anti-conservative, but astatine slightest they fto maine speak, I would person perfectly chosen to spell there," she said. "So I consciousness similar I got the rug pulled retired from nether maine from the determination that I chose to travel to this school."

Most importantly, Burnett said, Christians should not beryllium sidelined from governmental debate.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE CAMPUS RADICALS COAST TO COAST

"Christians person a spot successful politics, and not lone a place, we person a profound voice, the astir profound dependable successful politics. We person each close to asseverate ourselves, to marque claims, and it's truthful disappointing to spot a Christian assemblage propulsion this thought that Christians should not talk and that authorities are taboo," she said.

A vigil is hosted by Turning Point USA astatine Vanguard University successful September 2025 aft Charlie Kirk's assassination.  (Micah Kunkle, Carson Van Vooren)

Amanda Lebrecht, Vanguard University's vice president for pupil development, said that successful 2023, erstwhile the Turning Point section was successful the process of applying to go a registered pupil group, the schoolhouse was already moving distant from governmental clubs.

"We were successful the process past of disbanding our inter-club assembly and moving towards what we present person afloat established, which is our pupil clubs and enactment model," she told Fox News Digital.

"This fall, it was established that assemblage argumentation does not licence field clubs affiliated with governmental advocacy initiatives," she said, adding that the determination is portion of an effort to beforehand "our acquisition ngo wrong the discourse of our tiny Christian community."

In lieu of governmental clubs, students astatine Vanguard are encouraged to enactment with the assemblage medication connected broader initiatives similar past year's "Year of Civility," which Lebrecht described arsenic "co-curricular programming." She said the schoolhouse hosted near-daily events from the opening of the 2024-2025 world twelvemonth up until the November election, meant to conscionable the school's ngo of "lead[ing] a Christ-centered beingness of enactment and service."

This year's taxable is "Courageous Conversations," which, with the assistance of students, brought pro-life activistic Lila Rose of Live Action to campus.

People rise placards speechmaking "This is our Turning Point" during a memorial work for slain blimpish commentator Charlie Kirk astatine State Farm Stadium, successful Glendale, Arizona, Sept. 21, 2025.  (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

CONSERVATIVE STUDENT EXPOSES MIDWESTERN COLLEGE FOR PREVENTING TURNING POINT USA CHAPTER

"So, we've been gathering with these students often to assistance them scope their goals, but successful a mode that works with serving our community, and we've provided an accidental that inactive exists for them to person an world societal nine done the past [and] poli-sci department," Lebrecht said.

To Burnett's constituent astir the information of blimpish students connected campus, Lebrecht said the students person nonstop entree to the school's caput of field safety, and that, uniquely, the schoolhouse shares its field with the Costa Mesa Police Department, on with the city's occurrence department.

"We volition proceed to prosecute these students, and we volition proceed to effort to find a mode to assistance them conscionable their goals and person it enactment wrong the Vanguard community," Lebrecht said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Lebrecht said that the president of the assemblage prefers not to person assorted governmental clubs connected campus, politically near oregon close leaning, but alternatively "seeks to transmission their dependable ... successful a antithetic way, not soundlessness them."

Vanguard does let what it calls "cultural and practice clubs," including a Black Student Union, which Lebrecht said "exist to beforehand belonging and transportation amongst students," are unfastened to each students and person been progressive connected field for much than 10 years.