Turning Point USA is one of the newest UHCL organizations, and one of the campus’ conservative organizations.
“Through non-partisan debate, dialogue and discussion, Turning Point USA believes that every young person can be enlightened to true free market values,” Kayla Strzelecki, president of TPUSA’s UHCL chapter, and business major.
Strzelecki founded the group earlier in the semester and became officially recognized Sept. 22.
Strzelecki’s association with Turning Point USA began around the time of the 2016 election. During the election, Strzelecki watched many videos featuring political commentator Tomi Lahren. Strzelecki discovered the organization when Lahren, a prominent member of the group, spoke about it. This prompted Strzelecki to attend the organization’s annual conference in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“I agreed with a lot of what they said and I loved their goal to bring conservative values to college,” Strzelecki said. “I fell in love with Turning Point’s mission, and I wanted nothing more than to be a part of it. So, I started researching what it would take for me to start a club on campus.”
Strzelecki began creating a UHCL chapter and started finding members to join the organization. These included members Kristy Ybarra, psychology major; Jordan Chavez, business major; and Maria Martinez, accounting major.
Upon approval, the group began to promote their organization by putting up signs saying “Big Government Sucks” and “Socialism Sucks.”
When speaking about their controversial and blunt methods of advertisement, Strzelecki said how both lines were their “big tag lines” and their way of truly expressing what to expect from the organization. She also saw it as a way of expressing her freedom of speech that conservatives are not always able to express.
“A lot of conservatives feel that they can’t express their beliefs in college classrooms due to how colleges tend to be more left leaning,” Strzelecki said. “Our signs were part of a larger mission to bring a presence to the college. Our signs have simple words with big statements because they are designed to get people to think. We want to provoke thought, discussion and have civil debates about why conservative values work.”
The signs found themselves catching many students’ attention, to the point where Strzelecki and her associates realized that students were taking the signs down. Strzelecki and her associates noted that they were not surprised by this, acknowledging that college campuses tend to lean more to the left.
The group is continuing to make its presence known on campus, hosting and planning many events for the semester. One of their first major events was partnering with the Israeli Defense Force to bring two Israeli soldiers to UHCL to talk about their experiences in Israel. The event was a way to bring awareness regarding the ongoing Israeli-Palestine conflict and the need for the U.S. to support Israel.
“We are a pro-Israel organization, and Israel is America’s greatest ally in the Middle East,” Strzelecki said.
The event gave further insight into the ongoing conflict in Israel. The organization is also planning another major event set to take place later in November.
“We are planning a second event in November called the ‘Free Speech Ball’ event,” Strzelecki said. “We will have a giant beach ball and allow people to take a sharpie and write whatever they want on it. We hope that as people are writing we are able to have some discussions about some different topics. The main goal is to promote free speech on campus.”
The chapter feels very positive about its first semester as an active organization.
“I think that it’s been great so far,” Martinez said. “Like any organization, it’s expected for membership to be slow at the beginning, but we have received emails and feedback personally about student’s interest.”
The group is looking forward to growing and continuing to raise awareness to their ideals of small government and free market.
“I hope to get students more involved in the organization to open up conversation about why it’s important to have a limited government, be fiscally responsible and have free markets,” Martinez said. “I see the future of TPUSA as creating more dialogue over all.”
For more information on Turning Point USA, visit the UHCL chapter’s Facebook page and contact Strzelecki at uhcltpusa@gmail.com.
TPUSA is also noted for their racist ties, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. TPUSA is also known to harass professors for disagreeing with their political views. They already have harassed several beloved professors here.
As an alumna, I am saddened that Kayla and Krysti have brought this group to UHCL. In my opinion, they have brought shame and hatred to the campus. Our campus is no place for such villainy.