Eastern Illinois University grants recognition to TPUSA chapter despite student government rejection
Eastern Illinois University recently overrode a decision made by its student government to deny official recognition to a TPUSA chapter.
The school said that the decision would have violated the group’s First Amendment rights.
A Midwest university recently overrode its own student government to ensure recognition for a conservative student group.
Eastern Illinois University announced in a statement that it would grant Registered Student Organization status to Turning Point USA just one day after the Student Government Association voted to deny the group.
The university noted in its decision that the TPUSA chapter “met all requirements as outlined by University policy to create a Registered Student Organization (RSO).”
[RELATED: Loyola denies TPUSA charter request, marks second Louisiana school to hamper organization]
“[T]he decision, if allowed to stand, would violate EIU’s obligation under and commitment to the First Amendment,” the statement read. “As SGA’s resolutions are advisory, effective immediately, the local chapter is a Recognized Student Organization, which is consistent with EIU’s institutional values.”
Despite initially failing in a 5-0 vote with seven abstentions, the group gained favor with some among SGA, including Executive Vice President Mason Tegeler.
“This group is a group of students who are passionate, who are seeking together on this campus as is their right to do,” Tegeler said, according to The Daily Eastern News. “As a group, we try to set a good standard and model for the future. So, making bias decisions goes totally against that.”
SGA Advisor Ceci Brinker also called out the group for bias in its decision-making, saying she would ask the university to approve TPUSA despite the denial.
“I did not hear one thing this group said that was out of the ordinary,” she said.
The SGA voted to approve the National Society of Black Engineers. However, during the same meeting, it denied TPUSA.
EIU’s TPUSA chapter is not the only one in the state to face persecution and harassment. A graduate student and teaching assistant at Illinois State University flipped a table belonging to the school’s TPUSA chapter before being arrested. He was subsequently arrested again for making threats against President Trump, Campus Reform reported.
All relevant parties have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
