After the controversy sparked last semester by the proposed Turning Point USA chapter at Beloit College, the now-approved club held its first meeting on Sunday, Jan. 25.
The meeting took place in The Stack in The Powerhouse. Around 15 people attended, with an additional four, representing the club’s executive board.
After the executive board introduced themselves to the room, they began talking about what the chapter of Turning Point at Beloit College will look like. On a slideshow projected to the meeting, the club claimed that the purpose of their chapter is to “promote and uphold the principles laid out by the national organization through discussion and activities on campus.”
Plans and events for the chapter consist of the following: general meetings, where different topics will be covered and discussed weekly; tabling events, to encourage club engagement; volunteer opportunities; events encouraging voter registration; programs that bring speakers on campus; and other debate-like activities.
The club’s organizers also had a variety of merchandise available for people to take, including stickers and pins with taglines saying “PROUD PATRIOT,” “BIG PHARMA LOVES YOUR BAD DIET,” and “MONEY ISN’T FREE.” They were also handing out pocket United States Constitutions that were branded by the national Turning Point organization.
Following the discussions about the organization’s purpose, the executive members engaged the audience in a game of “This or That,” where participants received statements and chose a side of the room that represented their views best. The game started with light-hearted topics, such as waffles or pancakes, if cereal is or is not a soup, and whether a hot dog is a sandwich.
The questions gradually transitioned to more statements pertaining to politics, starting with the topic of hands-on or hands-off government. As the questions and statements became more divisive, complaints, raised by the meeting’s attendees, argued that the phrasing of the topics were too vague.
Other discussion topics touched on issues relating to the regulation of the Second Amendment and the upholding of Church vs. State in the US government. Among the most contested “This or That” topics related to public vs. private healthcare and equity vs. equality, which sparked some of the longest conversations of the meeting.
Some of the question slides were cut for time because of the contested topics, which took up more discussion time than expected. The executive team expressed gratitude to everyone for attending and participating in the discussion as attendees left.
In an interview with The Round Table, one of the attendees, Demir Kasapoglu’28, was curious “to see if more people go to their events,” he said. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I’m interested to see what happens next.”
Upon reaching out further, executive members of the Beloit College Chapter of TPUSA declined to comment.
Featured image: Ella Silva’27
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