Constitutional Heritage Club seeks ASWU affiliation following refusal of Turning Point USA chapter

The Constitutional Heritage Club tables in Jackson Plaza on Jan. 13, 2026. Photo by Lucy Devaleminck.

Last semester, senior Lexi Thorsett (’26) filed with ASWU to affiliate a Willamette University chapter of the national organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA). Such affiliation would allow them to reserve spaces on campus and potentially gain access to ASWU funding. In November, ASWU senators voted unanimously to refuse affiliation to the group.

This spring, Thorsett applied for ASWU affiliation for a group called “Constitutional Heritage Club” (CHC). The senate is voting on the club’s affiliation at Thursday’s meeting after a brief deliberation during last week’s meeting and an original recommendation from the Club Approval Committee to affiliate the new club. 

Despite the new name, the CHC seems to carry over some of the plans and relationships from the original push for a TPUSA chapter.

Changing tactics

When ASWU unanimously refused to affiliate Thorsett’s TPUSA chapter last semester based on concern for student safety and comfort on campus, Thorsett said, “It was like I hit a wall I couldn’t get through.”

Recognizing ASWU’s refusal as relating directly to her club’s identity as a TPUSA-named and affiliated group, Thorsett returned to the drawing board with the other executive members of the proposed club, its advisor, Willamette’s Director of Residence Life and Housing, Aaron Hukari, and its Turning Point Cascades representative, Sawyer Stone.

Since some senators stated they would accept a general politically conservative club, Thorsett said she renamed the group to limit reasons for another refusal.

Following the ASWU affiliation vote in November, TPUSA representatives also discussed TPUSA’s previous legal actions at other universities that similarly denied TPUSA chapters. Thorsett said she doesn’t want to pursue that avenue. “I don't want a legal battle at all,” she said. “I've done legal stuff for, like, a car wreck, and it was a nightmare. So, I was like, ‘Please, let's not go that route.’”

In terms of legal support, however, she made it clear that the option still exists, saying, “I don’t want to threaten legal action at all, but it is on the table because it has happened before at other schools. Affiliate us; if we break any of ASWU's rules, if we break any of our constitutional rules, disband us. They have every right to do so if we become problematic.”

Lisa Holliday, associate dean of students and director of Student Engagement and Leadership (SEAL), couldn’t recall a time in the past 20 or so years when a club was rejected by ASWU. “If everything’s taken care of in the packet, and we’ve checked all the boxes, historically, they have approved these organizations,” she said.

Peyton Edmunds (’29), an ASWU senator and member of the finance board — which is also the club approval committee — had, along with the rest of ASWU, been against affiliation of the TPUSA club in its original state. However, she expressed that as long as the group wouldn’t make students feel unsafe and remained separate from the national organization, she would vote to affiliate them. “I think I’ve made that clear … that if they want a Young Republicans on campus, I’ll support it,” she said.

When Thorsett’s club filed affiliation paperwork for the Constitutional Heritage Club, no national affiliation was listed. Edmunds and the rest of the committee recommended the senate to approve the club’s affiliation at the Feb. 16 finance board meeting.

However, it seems CHC still has connections to TPUSA. 

According to both the TPUSA Cascades and CHC Instagram pages, Willamette University is listed as affiliated with Turning Point. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, the CHC’s Instagram page included “TPUSA affiliated” in its bio. By that Friday, amid discussions between The Collegian, ASWU senators and members of the club, it instead read: “Powered by TPUSA.”

“I literally need the affiliation just to reserve a space,” Thorsett said of ASWU’s approval. “I’m not asking for money. … We still have ties to TPUSA, because they are going to support us financially if we need any money for anything.”

When The Collegian asked Edmunds on Feb. 19 about this apparent connection and how it may impact Edmunds’ decision to recommend affiliation, she stated, “If that is true — and I am going to attempt to figure that out from the source — my conviction is going to be what it originally was. I am against the affiliation [of TPUSA] itself, as that’s what generally makes people feel unsafe on campus.”

The Club Approval Committee unanimously recommended approving Constitutional Heritage Club’s affiliation during the finance board meeting on Feb. 16. However, during the broader ASWU meeting three days later, senators moved to table the vote regarding whether or not to affiliate the club until the Feb. 26 meeting. 

The affiliation question

ASWU requires disclosure of affiliations with national organizations within its club application paperwork, also asking for disclosure on where prospective clubs will receive funding from other than ASWU. 

Within that, however, SEAL and ASWU don’t have a set definition of what constitutes being “affiliated” with a national organization. Holliday noted, “I think the whole thing is going to be looked at as we establish a new norm going forward.” 

Aaron Hukari was selected as the prospective club’s advisor amid its startup effort last term and said he welcomes the chance to work more closely with students. He added that part of a university's responsibility is to prepare students to find new ways of thinking. 

“An engaged political discussion from many different viewpoints also provides opportunities to develop our own political sensibilities and evolve our perspectives,” Hukari said. “Only providing resources or access to one part of the political spectrum hinders this perspective sharing, conversation, and evolution.”

Edmunds confirmed that no national affiliation was listed on the CHC’s application, and that there was no mention of where they would be receiving funding from outside ASWU.

“We left the affiliation part off our application,” Thorsett said. “I was advised to not add it for the time being, from my club advisor.”

Hukari told The Collegian they have not received requested guidance or clarity from ASWU on any specific requirements, criteria or factors for what constitutes a formal, external affiliation, or how to provide more information on how these organizations are separate.

“Having clear definitions and guidelines would prevent the nebulous conversation occurring now about what is and is not an external affiliation and whether or not that should impact ASWU-affiliation,” he said.

Hukari stated that while he had met the Turning Point representative when CHC tabled an event in late January, he didn’t have any connection with the TPUSA organization. 

“As far as I know, there is no official connection between the two,” he said. “There is certainly the partnership they have in terms of they are conservative students on campus who were interested at some point in affiliating with them.”

Until things “calm down,” as Thorsett put it, she and other leaders are keeping Turning Point updated on their club status and said they are still being considered official by the organization as a result. But they’re doing more of what Willamette’s governing student body wants them to do — like change their name. 

“They think just the name [Turning Point] brings violence and a lack of safety for the school,” Thorsett said of ASWU. “Okay, let me change the name then. 

“I’m trying to minimize the reasons why they would deny us.”

ASWU’s next meeting is Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in Montag Den.