To the Student Government of Texas State,
We, the undersigned members of the Illinois Student Government at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, offer our thanks and support for your recently passed Faculty and Student Saftey Resolution "calling for the immediate removal and barring of Turning Point USA from Texas State University and suggesting protecting minority and marginalized populations from their negative campus influence."
Turning Point USA has a long history of harassment on campuses around the country. Specifically at the University of Illinois, they have publicly distributed the personal information of undocumented students as well as professors, built a wall on our main quad as part of a racist statement against Hispanic and Latinx individuals, and most recently held a "Hate speech is Free speech" event the same day as the Christchurch Mosque shooting.
Turning Point USA's coordinated attempts to influence campus elections through outside funding represents an existential threat to the fundamental tenets of student government. We applaud your organization for recognizing the threat that Turning Point USA's national actions pose to the very idea of students having a say in how their schools are governed, and we hope that student governments around the nation take action to keep their elections free, fair, and undisturbed by outside actors.
Like your organization, we are gravely concerned about Turning Point USA's Professor Watchlist. We believe that free speech is an important and inalienable right, afforded to all those who call the United States home. Turning Point USA's Professor Watchlist, a directory of professors deemed to be insufficiently right-wing, is a chilling example of Turning Point USA's opposition to the most fundementally American value of free speech. We believe that students and professors alike, especially those from minority and marginalized populations, are entitled to their opinions, and we must all stand against McCarthy-esque attempts to harass those who dare to have their voices heard.
We would like to extend our thanks for your actions in leading the effort in protecting our fellow students.
Sincerely,
Walter Lindwall, Student Body President
Vikram Sardana, Student Body Vice President
Susan Zhou, Chief of Staff
