All photos submitted by Club America Board.

Article authored by the Club America Board:

President - Lucy Loferski

Vice President - Tommy Brown

Secretary - Tyler Heisler

Treasurer - Andrew Tessen

Debate Manager & Mediator - Addison Hess

Social Media Manager - Jack Zimmer

Recruiter - Emily Hoffman

Reader Disclaimer

What Is Club America?

This question has been asked countless times by students, staff, parents, and even people outside the school. Yet, few have actually gone to the source (the Club America board members) to find the answer. We hope you will find this article helpful, as it will answer your questions about this club, while also giving you insight to how we are dealing with issues that have risen recently.

The Club Overview

Club America is more than just another student club; it's a student-led group to empower young voices and spark meaningful conversations about freedom, individual rights, and civic engagement. At Hamilton High School, this chapter gives students a space to share ideas, give back to their local communities, debate issues with respect, and take action on the topics that are shaping America’s future. Whether you’re passionate about leadership, community involvement, or simply learning how to think critically about current events, Club America offers a chance to be part of something bigger than our classrooms.

Club America will cover topics based on things that are currently happening within our country. For example, the recent government shutdown motivated us to research and create a presentation on its effects & outcomes and the fight for different healthcare opportunities. We then organized a “four corners” game where participants went to a corner of the room based on whether they agreed or disagreed on a certain statement. Some examples of these statements are: “The health of our economy is currently more important than the health of our environment,” “The United States should not entangle itself in any long-term alliances,” and “To regulate markets is to trespass people’s freedom.” We had a few other questions and had students across all corners of the room. Students shared their opinion on the topics and they learned from each other. We finally ended with two rounds of optional debate on: “Should the US government provide free healthcare?” The debate was respectful and friendly with opinions from both sides of the debate and those who fell in between, posing valid questions and concerns about all views.

Club America is sponsored by Turning Point USA, which is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. Additionally, Turning Point USA was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery. TPUSA created Club America chapters for conservative students who would like to be informed at high schools and colleges in hopes to spur a more informed generation. TPUSA also extended its services to people outside of schools to have a safe space to share their ideas and to provide a community full of open-minded individuals.

TPUSA’s sponsorship covers the costs of club-related activities, including bonding events, materials needed for volunteer work, and other educational or community-focused activities. The increasing popularity of Turning Point USA & their educational programs and chapters have caused a decrease in student spending, so we do require a small $10 fee upon entry to the club. This fee goes towards your custom magnetic locker decoration ($5) and the rest is saved for future costs. These costs may include meeting materials, snacks/food, and any costs that may come from our volunteer work and community service events.

Is Club America a conservative club?

No, but this is something that we will elaborate on. As stated above, high school Club America chapters & college TPUSA chapters were made for students who agree with more conservative beliefs. We will honor that by having that space for like-minded conservative students, as well as open-minded individuals with differing viewpoints to respectfully collaborate in club discussions. While Turning Point provides materials (pins, posters, or cards) that can be interpreted as conservative, we do not force beliefs upon our members and allow everyone to think freely. We encourage all students to join Club America, no matter their views or political affiliation. We have friendly debates where students with different ideas can come together and discuss what they are passionate about and why. Everything we do here is optional, so members can pick and choose which parts of the meetings they participate in.

Why do you have rules on respectfulness and behavior?

“No speaking disparagingly about the club or other members. Respectfulness is our highest priority.” (Club America Member Agreement)
“If you are found to be negatively posting on social media regarding the club or members, you will be asked to leave the club. The same applies with emails, any form of digital communication, and verbal communication.” (Club America Member Agreement)
“Club America is open to all opinions, ideas, and backgrounds. We are 100% inclusive to everyone who wants to join, all students are welcome as long as you are respectful before and after joining the club.” (Club America Mission Statement)

The above quotes are taken from our member agreement and club mission statement, and both are linked above & at the end of this article. These rules were put in place in response to negative student behavior towards the club, which included countless examples of hate speech that would not be appropriate to repeat in a school article.

This kind of behavior is cruel, slanderous, and simply untrue. Any club would have the same rules if they were in the same situation. We advocate for respectful opinion sharing, but name-calling and insults are not respectful, so as a board we came to the agreement that behaving this way will not be tolerated within the club. We ask that students understand and respect this decision and realize that this behavior is inappropriate when directed not only toward Hamilton’s Club America chapter, but toward any other club at the school.

Do you use Turning Point USA’s provided meeting plans and kits?

Club America used TPUSA’s “America’s Roots” presentation on Friday, December 5th. This was our first try with using a pre-made presentation, and we reviewed and edited it where we saw fit. Additionally, we have a list of meeting ideas and suggestions that we will continue to work on incorporating into our schedule because the Club America program of TPUSA gives us the opportunity to create our own meeting plans and discussions if we so choose. We also release the meeting topic & debate question before each meeting via our Instagram page (@clubamerica_hamilton), emails to members, and through our member group chat.

How do you join Club America? Are meetings open to anyone?

Meetings for Club America will be primarily member-only. Despite this, we will have occasional “bring a friend” meetings, where members are encouraged to bring a non-member to see how the club is. Even if someone is not a friend of a member, they can still show up to these meetings to see what Club America is. Our next “bring a friend” meeting date will be posted on our Instagram page! If you wish to join the club, all you have to do is fill out the “member application form” which is linked below! After you fill out the form, you will be added to the roster and sent an email with more information.

Final Words

The Club America board was requested to write this article by our principal, Mr. Bauer, in hopes to inform more students about the club’s true purpose and agenda. We hope students can better understand that this is simply a club about being patriotic, learning about your country, and giving back to your community. The board encourages any and all students to reach out with questions and/or suggestions, whether that's through our google form, emails, or sending a DM to our Instagram page. Thank you for taking your time to get to know us better; we really appreciate it!