
By MATEUS FERREIRA/Head Writer and GENEVIEVE JACKSON/Staff Writer and CHLOE SUH/Staff Writer
Students begin a chapter of Turning Point USA at UT Tyler to continue Charlie Kirk’s controversial legacy of conservative ideas and open dialogue.
TPUSA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012. It advocates for conservative values in high schools and university campuses. According to TPUSA’s website, its mission is to “identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.

Kirk’s Legacy
The New York Post reports that since Kirk’s assassination, the non-profit has received over 37,000 new chapter requests. The leaders of Turning Point UT say they have been attempting to establish the organization since the previous semester.
“But after Charlie’s death, I think it kind of hit hard, and we all felt the idea that it’s time for us to step up,” said Jonathan Roncancio, the Vice President of TPUSA.
You know, there’s no longer someone like Charlie Kirk, who is going to be speaking so eloquently and being a man of faith like he was. So we all have to embody that and become little Charlie Kirks in a way.”
Roncancio joined TPUSA because he said it was a duty to serve his community in the realm of politics. His interest in government began in 2022 when he met Kirk.
“It kind of really lit something in me,” he said. “
I don’t know, it just was amazing in the way he articulated his points and came across.”
He would go on to have breakfast with Kirk this summer.
“He just knew what he stood for and most of all, he was a man of faith,” Roncancio said. “
You could really see it in the way he talked and the way he acted. He just was pursuing God, first and foremost.”
The President of the UT Chapter of TPUSA, Reese Cooper, said her interest in the Group started in the sixth grade when she came across one of Kirk’s YouTube videos. She said she was inspired by the respectful way he would talk with people he disagreed with.
“After years of looking up to him, we’re now forced to look down at the headstone of our hero, and what has America come to if we’re not able to have conversations without violence being involved?” Said Cooper.
Cooper spoke about the new head of TPUSA, Erika Kirk, and her proclamation that the organization will flourish despite Kirk’s death. She said the group will honor his memory through their work. The TPUSA president also warned against moving on from his murder too quickly as a society.
“We are not moving on,” said Cooper. “ We’re absolutely not going to go forward with anger vengeance, but awareness is a huge part of what we’re wanting to do with his memory,.
What TPUSA will do on campus
TPUSA leaders said debate nights are being planned. They have already been in contact with UT Tyler Young Democrats for a potential event.
The group said they will focus on community building within UT. They hope to bond with Greek organizations, as they tend to be more conservative, according to TPUSA leaders. They also plan to raise awareness through tabling events.
“We don’t want to bring anything that is negative or anything that is evil intent,” said Roncancio. “We just want to bring things that are good and will bring life to this campus because this campus is kind of not very exciting.”
They also intend to host casual parties, as well as traditional Galas and dances. Cooper mentioned potentially starting Bible studies. She added, however, that you do not need to be Christian to join TPUSA.

“Our identity is based in Christ, and we hope to evangelize to as many people as we can, but it’s not at all a non-Christian/Christian situation,” she said.
Cooper explained that Kirk was religious, so they hope to incorporate faith into the organization.
“At the end of the day, Charlie Kirk used Turning Point to spread the gospel in a pretty heavy manner,” said Roncancio. “I mean, most of the college campuses he went to, he had a portion of it where he was spreading the gospel and preaching Jesus’ name and so I think that’s important to a lot of us as well, because at the end of the day, that’s what most people need to be striving for, because, I mean, this life is fleeting, and we want people to be able to inherit the kingdom of God.”
Issues TPUSA will focus on
Abortion, illegal immigration, the Second Amendment, the economy, and free speech are some of the Issues they will be focusing on this year. Cooper emphasized the importance of discussing topics that are often considered mundane.
”We don’t focus enough on the issues that are not as polarizing, and we have to focus on those just as much as the ones that get clickbait and attention,” said Cooper.

TPUSA leaders claimed that left-wing ideas are far more prevalent in the university system. Seth Converse, the secretary of TPUSA, explained that when there is an imbalance in ideology, you “lose a lot of old thinking points.”
“so turning Point USA, you really just embodied that,” Converse said “It’s fighting for conservative ideas to come back on the college campuses, back into high schools, back into our everyday lives and we might not all agree on different things, and there will be times that we will disagree, but we agree on the core components of our organization.”
Accusations of extremism
Major critics of TPUSA include the “Anti-Defamation League,” which is one of the most prominent Jewish advocacy and anti-hate organizations, according to the Washington Post. Following backlash from Elon Musk and right-wing influencers, the ADL removed TPUSA from its “glossary of extremism” on October 1. The ADL has not directly addressed the backlash but stated that some entries were being misused and that others were being taken out of context. They added that they are exploring new ways to “present our research more effectively.”
The ADL never described Kirk’s organization as an extremist group but did keep a record of the group’s most controversial comments. In now deleted research on extremism, the ADL claimed TPUSA is connected with individuals who have made “bigoted statements about the Black community, the LGBTQ community and specifically transgender people, and other minority groups.”
Cooper rejected claims that TPUSA is an Alt-right organization, saying instead the group is considered non-partisan. She pointed out they are not affiliated with any political candidate. For her, TPUSA is about reaching objective truth through “healthy debates.”
“The whole point of Turning Point is for conversation and to see the humanity in people that we disagree with,” said Cooper. “I think we absolutely hold values that are based in faith and conservatism, but we don’t discredit people that think differently than us.”
TPUSA has received criticism for hosting highly controversial figures at its events. For example, Azmirror reported on figures some consider “Far-right extremists” at Turning Points “AmericaFest” in 2021. Figures included Micajah Jackson, who took a plea deal for his role in the Capitol riot on January 6.
The event also featured Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed two men and injured another at a BLM protest. According to the Washington Post, Rittenhouse claimed he was participating in a “self-described militia” and acted in self-defense. In November 2021, he was acquitted of all charges.
Kirk has tried to distance himself from the extreme right. The Coloradan reported on a violent clash between protesters and alleged “neo-nazis” outside an event where the conservative speaker was giving a speech. Kirk criticized the group from inside the venue.
“That BS they’re trying to say out there, it’s not who we are, it’s not what we believe, it’s not what Turning Point believes,” Kirk said.
The ADL also claimed Kirk promoted conspiracy theories on the 2020 election, vaccines, and said that he has “demonized” minority groups.
TPUSA leaders said that if UT students believe that TPUSA is an extremist group, they should come to a meeting.
“If you think we’re white supremacists and that we’re Nazis, come to a meeting and see,” said Converse. “I don’t think you’re going to see that.
I think you’re going to see a lot of nice, loving, kind people that really just want to get to know you.”
The Professor Watchlist
TPUSA is often criticized for creating the Professor Watchlist. The project claims its mission “is to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”
Documented professors can be searched for in categories like “climate alarmist, “antisemitism,” “anti-judeo Christian values,” “feminism,” “racial ideology,” “terror,” “supporter” and “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
Although they do receive tips from the public, they claim the “carefully aggregated list” is sourced from published news stories.
Converse compared the watchlist to the website “Rate My Professor.” He explained the project lets young conservatives know what a professor is like before they take their class.
“So that’s where I feel that that is really beneficial for conservative students because a lot of times conservative, young students, go into a class and they feel alone because there’s such anger and divisiveness from the professors and the students that they’re singled out and that is not beneficial for education,” said Converse
Critics, such as the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), argue that instances of “indoctrination” on the site involve professors’ social media posts and scholarly works, rather than classroom discrimination. They asserted the list leads to online harassment and intimidation. NBC reported that professors have received death threats since being listed.
In a 2016 interview with Time Magazine, Kirk condemned threats against professors on the list. He added that the point of the watchlist is not to make professors feel insecure or to intimidate them.
Opposition to TPUSA
The group said they have struggled to get an advisor. Roncancio explained professors are scared to attach themselves to a conservative movement like TPUSA.
“I’ve talked to conservatives, I’ve talked to people who are middle, people who are more left-leaning and a lot of them, they don’t want to do it because of the way other faculty members will view them,” said Roncancio.
He explained that professors are meant to be unbiased. For him, this means that if there is enough interest in an organization, it should be an “obligation” for professors to be advisors.
TPUSA leaders explained that they felt conservative students are judged by their classmates and forced to hide their beliefs.
Cooper said she found it hypocritical that during a class discussion, conservatives were characterized as “aggressive” while liberals were called “tolerant.” After sharing her beliefs on abortion and immigration, she said her class would not sit with her and began giving her rude stares.
Roncancio added that he doesn’t believe in mass “polarization” and instead thinks most people want to be unified.
“We’re all human and we all have our own struggles and we really want to talk about how we can grow together, because at the end of the day, all of us agree that we want to get to this point,” said Roncancio. “
We all want to have a better life, and so we just disagree about how we get there.
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