TERRE HAUTE — Andrew Bowen had toyed with the idea of starting a Turning Point USA chapter when he enrolled as a freshman this year at Vincennes University.
But that idea turned into a burning conviction on Sept. 10 when he watched a bullet strike and kill Charlie Kirk, founder of the rightwing political nonprofit, during a debating session with students at Utah Valley University.
The 31-year-old was an outspoken Christian conservative and a key ally of President Donald Trump, helping him make inroads with college students that aided in his election last year.
Police say the assassination was carried out by Tyler James Robinson, a 22-year-old college dropout who prosecutors say was politically motivated to kill Kirk.
“It was unfathomable,” Bowen said. “I never in a million years thought somebody’s going to shoot him. It became very clear to me that it was more important than ever just to get out in our communities and preach about … how civil disagreement is much better than the alternative.”
That’s exactly what the 18-year-old legal studies student plans to do after receiving approval last week to start a Turning Point chapter at Vincennes University, allowing the club to hold events and meetings on campus.
Within an hour of official status approval, more than 30 students had signed up to join, according to Bowen, the chapter president.
“We’re on a liberal campus, so it wasn’t surprising to know that there was going to be people that would push against us,” he said. “It was actually even more surprising to know that there was that many people that wanted us to be here.”
‘A GROUNDSWELL’
Similar stories are playing out across the state as grief and outrage over Kirk’s assassination has led to a surge of new Turning Point chapters at colleges and high schools. In less than a month following his death, the organization nationally has received 120,000 requests from college and high school students to start or join a chapter, Turning Point officials told Fox News.
The organization didn’t respond to emails from CNHI News Indiana asking how many new chapters have formed in Indiana.
Just six days after Kirk’s death, Valparaiso High School approved a new Club America (the public school version of Turning Point).
A post on Facebook by the Valparaiso Republicans announcing the decision garnered 5,700 likes. About a week later, a veteran English teacher at the school resigned after school officials said a personal social media comment she made about Kirk was an “objectionable post.”
Jack Pupillo, chairman of the local Republican Party, said every large high school in Porter County has now either approved or is in the process of approving a chapter.
“It’s just interesting to see the effect of such a highprofile guy being killed for his beliefs,” Pupillo said. “It’s really kind of created a movement nationwide that I’ve never experienced before.”
Sophia Hunt, a student at Westfield High School, said she received approval from the district to start a chapter and is collaborating with students from another club at Carmel High School.
“Big things are coming as we combine our efforts to make an even greater impact,” she posted on Instagram.
The spike in Club America chapters also comes after Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith in July said he was “fired up” about the movement and wanted to see more chapters coming to the state’s high schools.
“Hoosier students, this is your moment,” he said in a Facebook post. “If you’re ready to register voters, host community events, and stand tall for timeless American principles, grab your friends and start a chapter today.”
Kameron Winters, a senior studying applied medicine at Indiana State University, said he tried for two years to get official recognition from the college, but he felt unsupported by the administration. The group operated off campus with just two members.
That changed after university officials last month issued a statement saying the organization was “welcome on our campus” in response to false rumors that the college had banned the group and threatened disciplinary action against students and staff who supported it.
Now, the club has found a teacher sponsor, as required by the college, and will likely become an official chapter soon, according to Winters. Phone calls and emails from students have poured in, and about 30 have committed to joining, he said.
“Seeing Charlie get killed for sharing his ideas, I think a lot of people have been emboldened to speak their mind and their opinions,” he said. “I think that has helped the dialogue move forward a little more.”
Pupillo with the Valparaiso Republicans said the surge of students interested in the conservative politics espoused by Kirk and Turning Point is energizing the party and altering the perception that the GOP is made up of only old white men.
“I see more and more young people turning to the Republican Party and conservatism more than I’ve ever seen in my lifetime,” the 35-year-old said. “What a groundswell. I can’t say I’ve seen anything like this in politics.”
A SPIKE IN ACTIVISM
Now, as more Turning Point chapters spring up around Indiana, members say they feel emboldened to preach Kirk’s conservative Christian message at colleges and high schools despite pushback from those who oppose the group.
Mackensi Schneider, a senior working to start a Turning Point chapter at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, said she knows that many of her fellow students don’t like the organization’s right-wing message, which critics have characterized as racist and homophobic.
Schneider didn’t feel comfortable talking about her political or religious beliefs for most of her college career. But that changed following Kirk’s assassination. Now, she isn’t concerned about what people think and is willing to take some heat for her views.
“I feel like I gained a lot more confidence to just be unapologetically who I am, and that is a conservative and a Christian,” she said. “I think if people aren’t going to like me because I have certain beliefs, that’s OK.”
Winters from Indiana State University said he’s looking forward to using Turning Point to try and win over his fellow classmates — many of whom don’t follow or care about politics — to the conservative views promoted by Kirk.
“I think that is where we’re going to be able to capitalize the most,” he said. “ … We are going to share ideas and maybe be able to convince some more people.”
The long-term impact the surge in new chapters will have on college campuses is unclear, explained Gregory Shufeldt, a political scientist at the University of Indianapolis. College clubs’ popularity ebbs and flows depending on the charisma and passion of the students who run them, he explained.
Many conservative students currently have that passion for Turning Point, Shufeldt noted, after Kirk’s killing catapulted the organization from relative obscurity into the national spotlight. Now, many conservative students have quickly adopted membership in the organization as a central part of their identity, he explained.
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