By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

The Worcester County Public Schools community is split on the system’s allowance of the politically charged Turning Point USA chapter at Stephen Decatur High School. An onslaught of citizen comments at last week’s board of education meeting highlighted this divide.

Turning Point USA was founded in 2012 by the late conservative and controversial political activist, Charlie Kirk, who was murdered on Sept. 10 during an event and debate at Utah Valley University.

Kirk’s murder has been deemed an act of political violence, furthering the volatile energy on both sides of the aisle. The incident has also led to an increased interest in Kirk’s organization. As “Fortune” reported last month, Turning Point has received 60,000 inquiries about new chapters on high school and college campuses.

The ramifications of Kirk’s assassination have reached Worcester County, where a group of students at SDHS has spearheaded its own chapter of TPUSA’s high school program.

According to the organization’s website, “Turning Point USA High School is the largest and most impactful youth movement for promoting freedom-loving, American values. Students champion these initiatives by organizing into student-led chapters and activism hubs.”

That club’s formation has been met with strong support and opposition, with many questioning the morality of the affiliation and whether the Worcester County Board of Education and SDHS’s administrative team should permit such a group.

The divide within Worcester County on the issue was on full display last week, at the school system’s board of education meeting on Thursday, Oct. 23.

County resident Pam Hay was first to speak during the gathering’s public comments segment. Hay, who said she has lived and worked in Worcester for 53 years, expressed her opposition to Decatur’s Turning Point chapter.

“First, I would like to thank Tamara Mills (WCPS Coordinator of Instruction), because she described how the decision was made to allow Turning Point into Stephen Decatur’s after-school clubs,” Hay said.

“However, somewhere in that explanation was the sentence that clubs should cause no harm at all. But the origin of this particular program, Turning Point, is not very inclusive; in fact, it’s a pretty divisive group that started this program…They are anti anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe.  My question is, who is monitoring what’s being said? My hope is that this is a flash in the pan and it goes away fast.”

Patrick Whaley, an alumnus of SDHS who owns property in Berlin, said that he drove four hours from Pennsylvania to protest the TPUSA team. Whaley argued that schools are a facility to learn, not a place where political groups meet, particularly ones like Turning Point, which he said promotes hate.

“We all know what Charlie Kirk stood for,” Whaley said. “Some say he was Christian, and he taught Christian values. But there’s a scripture that tells us about love. When you preach hate against different groups, against Black people, against LGBTQ people, people who are not white, that is not love. I am here to protest. If we do anything, we need to have a club that preaches unity. And I feel that this club is not about unity.”

Debra Fisher Reynolds, a retired teacher, expressed a similar sentiment.

“Turning Point USA claims they promote free speech and debate, but instead promote hate, violence, bullying, and threatening students who are different,” she said. “As a right-wing group promoting bigotry and fascist ideology, the way politics in the United States has become so polarized and partisan is deeply worrying and ultimately a threat to American democracy and student safety in our schools.”

Berlin resident Marie Velong, who noted that both of her children graduated from Decatur, said she was worried about the precedent set by approving TPUSA for high school students. Velong argued that while Turning Point is a discussion group—an essential aspect of civil engagement—it is also deeply partisan.

“[TPUSA] is a national organization known for, at times, divisive tactics, including targeting of teachers and students who hold different views,” she said. “True education depends on intellectual diversity—the free and respectful exchange of many perspectives. If the chapter remains, I urge the board to ensure balance by approving a counterpoint organization. Our schools should be places for dialogue, not division, for critical thinking, not campaigning. Upholding intellectual diversity means giving every student the confidence to speak, question, and learn without fear of bias. I ask the board to reconsider approving the TPUSA chapter or to encourage the formation of a complementary club. I think that’s one of the things that’s good about the club, the civic awareness, but it’s too slanted.”

Velong also claimed that TPUSA has a watchlist of schools and teachers that do not hold similar values to the conservative organization, undermining its commitment of free speech.

According to a Sept. 13 report by The Baltimore Sun, TPUSA initiated a professor watchlist project in 2016. The group says that this inventory was taken of teachers who have discriminated against conservative students.

“The project consists of published news stories detailing instances of bias, propaganda, or speech infringement on college campuses,” the professor watchlist website reads. “We only publish profiles on incidents that have been reported and published via a credible source. TPUSA will continue to fight for free speech and the right of professors to say whatever they believe; however, students, parents, and alumni deserve to know the specific incidents and names of professors that advance a radical agenda in our lecture halls.”

While much of the board of education’s public comments were flooded with TPUSA protestors, many came out in support of the Decatur club.

“I’m not sure what everybody’s afraid of with TPUSA,” said Worcester resident Peter Ostrowski, “As I read the mission statement of TPSUS, it’s to ‘identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.’ I’m not sure why that spooks people.”

Worcester County Commissioner Caryn Abbott was also present at last Thursday’s meeting, urging the board to support the student organization. Earlier this month, the county commissioners proclaimed Sept. 10 as Charlie Kirk Day.

“Charlie Kirk was murdered for his Christian faith, comprehensive knowledge of the Constitution, and the belief that America is the beacon of hope, liberty, and freedom of speech for all,” Abbott said. “He taught countless youths across this nation to embrace American ideals, engage civilly with those they disagree with, and open debate, arming themselves with facts and reason. He knew that when people stop talking, violence happens. I applaud the administration at Stephen Decatur for sanctioning the students’ trip to the commissioners the day we presented the [Charlie Kirk Day] proclamation. We need to encourage future leaders in our schools.”

Also present at the board meeting was 20-year-old Colin McEvers, the president of the Salisbury University chapter of TPUSA. McEvers said that Turning Point’s mission is to engage the public in debate and dialogue, a practice required to maintain American democracy. The student said he resents that members of Turning Point are referred to as extremists, and that the organization’s very vision contradicts that claim.

“Engaging in discussion, having conversations, political discourse, none of that is fascistic, racist, discriminatory, or any of the things that people are accusing [TPUSA] of being,” he said. “If we suppress the opinions of students, that breeds more division, more partisanship, more hatred between people. We need more discussion, more political discourse. We need all these things because if we do not, people will only hate each other more. We live in a very polarized society, and if we do not actually sit down and have conversations with people, which is exactly why this club was formed, then we will not be able to have good relationships with each other.”

Some community members have questioned whether a politically charged student club is allowed to operate. Officials said earlier this month that the TPUSA chapter is not school-sanctioned, but it may meet on the school system’s property during Out-Of-School-Time (OST), granted it follows specific guidelines.

For instance, the club’s application had to come from interested students, not adults, the group had to be led by the young learners, and parent permission slips were to be signed.