Turning Point USA, the non-profit conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, plans to meet with the Student Government Association on December 2, 2025, in an effort to sway them to vote in favor of starting a Turning Point chapter on our campus. Rumor has it they also plan to host an event on campus on December 9.
Charlie Kirk is a name that has divided Americans along political ideologies — for better or for worse. Whether you loved or hated Kirk, his death in September at the hands of the very thing he loved so dearly – guns – sent ripples through the political hemisphere.
Though supporters consider Kirk a “conservative activist,” others are not so sure. It seemed the central focus of Kirk’s “conservative activism” was to spread racial unrest, slander of the LGBTQ+ community, advocate for the victims of rape to carry unwanted fetuses to term, and attempt to portray himself as an educated superior. This, despite the fact that he holds no college degree himself.
In one of Kirk’s most famous debates, published to Youtube on the channel Jubilee in 2024, Kirk was speaking to a college student who had proposed the idea: If your ten-year-old daughter was raped, would you force your daughter to carry and deliver that baby?
Kirk, who has a young daughter, replied to this college student, “Calm down, the answer is yes, the baby would be delivered.”
When Kirk spoke earlier this year at a Leadership Summit in Grapevine, Texas, he spoke directly to a fourteen-year-old girl who wished to pursue political journalism, stating, “Interestingly, I think there’s an argument to bring back the ‘M-R-S degree’.”
The M-R-S degree is a slang term for young women getting married and pregnant as a “career.” Kirk then said, “Just be clear, that’s why you’re going to college, right? Don’t lie to yourself…like, don’t like, [say] ‘Oh I’m going, I’m studying sociology.” No, you’re not. We know why you’re here and that’s okay.”
At a speaking summit for Turning Point USA, Kirk stood just 80 miles from the grisly murder site of George Floyd, a Black man killed by Minneapolis, Minnesota police officers. And what did the Turning Point USA co-founder have to say about Floyd only a year after Floyd’s murder? Kirk said he would say things “no one dares say out loud” then proceeded to call George Floyd a “scumbag” and made debunked claims about Floyd, despite saying that didn’t mean Floyd should die.
On June 1, 2023, the first day of Pride Month, Kirk sent out a simple tweet: “Pride is a Sin.” He then said that when “groomers can’t reproduce,” they “go serve on school boards. And they go do drag queens. And they do all this other sort of disgusting, nauseating stuff.”
It is worth pointing out that “groomers” is a derogatory term used by some people to imply that LGBTQ+ people spend their lives “grooming” children to be gay or engage in pedophilia.
Kirk is also a staunch advocate for the coagulation of church and state. Despite all evidence to the contrary, such as the U.S. Constitution, Kirk on his podcast in 2022 said,“Of course, we should have church and state mixed together. Our Founding Fathers believed in that.”
On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in the neck via sniper while he was engaging in discussion with college students on Utah Valley campus. While everyone of every political ideology should agree that there is no place in America for political violence, it seemed that Kirk himself – an ardent supporter of gun rights – was aware of the associated risks.
“I think it’s worth it. It’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment,” he said at a Turning Point USA Faith event in April 2023.
Now, while much of Kirk’s activism occurred far from the SUNY Old Westbury Campus, it might be easy to assume that it would not impact us. But that assumption is wrong.
To what degree of freedom is forcing your ten year old daughter to carry her rapist’s baby?
What degree of freedom is standing just yards from where a Black man was unjustly murdered by the police, and call that man a scumbag?
When does it change from freedom of speech to the enticement of hatred?
Kirk’s organization holds that they are rooted in Christian faith, conservative ideals, and “Old American” freedom. They denounce any connection to violence or hate and say they hold no prejudice – simply that they hold conservative values and wish to spread them freely.
From SUNY Old Westbury’s founding in 1965 to the present day, our school has prided itself on something immortalized in our mission statement: “a commitment to building a more just and sustainable world.”
Today, as the university proudly celebrates 60 years of unwavering support of social justice, we are at a crossroad.
Will we cave, or will we stand strong?
When any potential club submits a constitution to the university’s Student Government Association, they are asked: What is your mission? In other words: What does your club exist to do? Some might answer to educate, to illustrate, to provide a space for all to come and be safe and feel validated.
But what will Turning Point USA say? Perhaps conservatism? Or perhaps racism, homophobia or blatant bigotry disguised as “freedom of speech?”
The time is now for the student body, faculty and staff to make a decision.
Does Turning Point USA have a home at SUNY Old Westbury?
It is evident by this article that I have made my decision.
It is now time for you to make yours.
