ASWU votes not to affiliate Constitutional Heritage Club

Constitutional Heritage Club tabling in Jackson Plaza on Jan. 13. Photo by Lucy Devlaeminck.

At the Feb. 26 ASWU meeting, senators voted to refuse affiliation to the Constitutional Heritage Club (CHC). The club was started by Lexi Thorsett (’26), the same student who sought to establish a Willamette chapter of the national organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in the fall. The vote was not unanimous, but overwhelmingly the group was rejected, with 12 senators opposed and two abstaining.

The club approval committee had originally voted to recommend affiliation of the club on Feb. 16. Club approval member Peyton Edmunds (’29) told The Collegian on Feb. 19 that she would support the club if it absolved its relationship with TPUSA.

However, at last Thursday's meeting, according to the senate meeting minutes, ASWU members brought up concerns around a seemingly retained connection between CHC and TPUSA. The morning of the senate meeting, The Collegian had released an article documenting apparent connections between the two entities.

In a written statement sent to The Collegian on March 5, Thorsett said, “I gave into [ASWU’s] demands and they refused to meet me halfway. They want me to completely cut ties with Turning Point USA. The people of my club don't want that to happen and I promised I would keep fighting for the right to organize an official club. … I will not stop fighting for our right of freedom of speech. I will keep trying to bring Turning Point USA to campus and I have it in good faith that this fight will continue once I graduate.”