On November 7th, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced that he is committing one million dollars from his campaign coffers to put Turning Point USA chapters on every college and high school campus in Texas. Turning Point is a conservative nonprofit, co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University in September. Kirk’s death quickly rallied conservatives, including President Trump, who awarded Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In Patrick’s post, he wrote that he spoke with Turning Point executives about the idea, and declared that “Texas has the size and the heart to open more chapters than any other state and more than most countries. Let’s get it done for Charlie, and for Texas.”
This announcement is one of the many effects that stemmed from Kirk’s death in September. The Texas Education Agency launched an investigation into educators who shared “reprehensible and inappropriate content” about the incident. This followed with terminations and expulsions of students and educators for online comments made about Kirk’s death, including a Texas State student.
“ I don’t know how to feel about (the high school part), because at the end of the day, most of them are still minors,” said English junior Maya Herrera. “I feel that … would conflict with the education system, specifically since you want to keep both perspectives in the picture when educating minors.
Further, after Kirk’s death, Trump began to blame the radical left for political violence in the U.S. He claimed that radical leftist groups incite political violence in the U.S., arguing that radical left rhetoric is directly responsible for the violence in the country today. However, this largely neglects statistics that reveal that most domestic terrorists in the U.S. are politically on the right, and right-wing attacks account for the vast majority of fatalities from domestic terrorism. In a study done over a 30-year period, the far-right has been more active in ideologically motivated homicides than the far-left. Moreover, far-right homicides account for a larger portion of political homicides and are more likely to target racial and ethnic minorities.
“I think it’s very concerning to be installing this organization,” said Addie Dodge, a social work graduate student. “Turning Point has been associated with so much hate and division. I also find it interesting that this is being allowed into schools, but high schools and middle schools can’t have gender sexuality alliances or affinity groups anymore. That’s been basically made illegal by recent legislation.”
Regardless of who is actually perpetrating the majority of political violence, Kirk’s assassination was a result of intense political polarization and sparked political movement across the country, along with being the catalyst for Patrick’s donation. Texas Turning Point high school and college chapters have both almost doubled, and Patrick seeks 100% participation.
Patrick said that 135,000 requests have already been made to start new Turning Point chapters since Kirk’s death. In their student program mission statement, Turning Point “exists to educate young people about the importance of limited government, free markets, and freedom.” Whether or not you agree with Turning Point’s advocacy, it is important for teens and young adults to gain accessible entry into political spheres. Youth engagement can help give students more of a voice, and increase their knowledge on political issues that affect them.
Whether or not you agree with Turning Point’s advocacy, it is important for teens and young adults to gain accessible entry into political spheres. Youth engagement can help give students more of a voice, and increase their knowledge on political issues that affect them. However,
forcingForcing Turning Point chapters at every Texas college and high school is not the way to support youth advocacy. Kirk’s death should not be exploited as a reason to force right-wing political socialization in schools. Fostering political expression and engagement is a net benefit, but coercing the formation of Turning Point chapters does not allow the political drive to come from students themselves. Instead, Patrick’s intended goal is an unveiled, politically-oriented decision that will serve as a tool of indoctrination rather than a source of genuine political engagement.
Gray is an anthropology, government and philosophy junior from Baytown, Texas.
