Unpacking the Discomfort Around Club America
Photo from Kevin McCartney via Pexels.
With the recent controversy of the formation of Club America, powered by Turning Point USA, many students have come forth with various differing opinions about the formation of the club. This brought to mind an interesting question: Why are people so upset over the creation of this club? Since this is the only club that has been vetoed by our student council, I thought it would be interesting to get student’s opinions on what clubs they would allow at schools to see if I can get a better understanding of what exactly makes this club the target of so much hate.
A Google form was sent out to all of my current and past teachers to be sent out to their students. The form asked students to select “pass” or “veto” on various made up clubs. The clubs students were asked to vote on were Shakespeare Enthusiast Club, Shrek Lovers Club, Satanist Club, National English Honor Society, Democratic Socialist Club, and Political Debate Club. While some of these were thrown in to be jokes (Shrek Lovers Club) or because I was certain they would be vetoed (Satanist Club), the results were rather interesting. While there are definitely students who did not take this seriously and swayed the results just because they thought it was funny, the majority of students voted similarly for each club.
Of the 144 responses, the clubs that overwhelmingly passed were National English Honor Society, 96.1%, Shakespeare Enthusiast Club, 77.1%, and Shrek Lovers Club, 63.2%. The only club that was overwhelmingly vetoed was the Satanist Club, 79.9%. The two clubs that were of main interest to this topic were the Democratic Socialist Club and the Political Debate Club. The Democratic Socialist Club, serving as a club with the same political undertones as Club America, was vetoed with a 61.1% majority. The Political Debate Club passed with a 57.6% majority. While these two statistics show that there was not an overwhelming majority as I was expecting, it still does show that an unbiased political debate club would have passed, while a club with obvious political bias wouldn’t have passed.
The survey was also sent to the Student Council Executive Board with the same made up clubs for them to decide which they would pass and which they wouldn’t. Although they no longer have this power, I thought it was important to include their opinion. The same group of made up clubs were given to the Student Council and the results were very similar to the student vote. The Shakespeare Enthusiast Club, Shrek Lovers Club, and National English Honor Society all passed with all 12 students choosing to pass those clubs. The Satanist Club was almost entirely vetoed, however there was one person who chose to pass it. For the two key clubs, Democratic Socialist Club and the Political Debate Club, the results were similar to the general student survey. The Democratic Socialist Club was split 50/50 and the Political Debate Club passed with a 58.3% majority.
The results with the Democratic Socialist Club could largely be attributed to hindsight bias. Now that Club America has been allowed, there are some people who believe that this made up club should be allowed as a way to balance out the school. Some may have vetoed this due to the backlash from the student body and media about allowing a club that has some political affiliation. The reason as to why these students vote either way is unclear from this anonymous survey; however, it does show that a political debate club with no political affiliation is more likely to pass when the power is given to the students. So if Club America is a club open to all viewpoints and the student body has shown that they would pass a club with no political affiliation, why are people so against the formation?
The answer may be the club’s affiliation with Turning Point USA, TPUSA, a nonprofit organization created by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgomery.
It is not difficult to find hateful comments coming from the leaders of TPUSA and their top donors. Charlie Kirk on the Charlie Kirk show is quoted saying, “I love this country, and I hate to see what mass migration is doing to it.” So why, as the daughter of a legal immigrant, would I want to interact with this club when the founder of the affiliated organization is quoted saying mass immigration is ruining America?
Riley Gaines, a top donor to TPUSA and former Olympic athlete, has built her entire platform on transphobia and attempting to get trans women banned from sports. So why would a transgender student at Hamilton, or the Hamilton Gay Straight Alliance, want to work with Club America?
Benny Johnson, another top donor listed on the TPUSA website, is a known Republican content creator who is quoted saying, “Diversity is not our strength,” and that we have lived “with some of those cultural poisons that he [former president Barack Obama] foisted upon our nation.” So why would students of color want to work with an organization like this? Benny Johnson has also been quoted saying the left is “inhumane” for not praying for Charlie Kirk when he passed. This lack of praying for Charlie Kirk can likely be credited to the fact that many people who are part of a Christian faith are right leaning (Pew Research Center, 2016). Also according to the Pew Research Center, many Democrats/left leaning Americans are not religious. But just the fact that he did not comment on the religious differences in the USA between Democrats and Republicans doesn’t exactly show that the founders of this club are tolerant of different ideas.
So I will ask once more, why would someone with a different viewpoint feel safe joining this club?
While I fully understand there is a big difference between TPUSA and the Club America chapter at Hamilton, it isn’t a good look for all of this hate to be coming out of an organization affiliated with Club America. I am also fully aware that nobody is forcing anyone to be part of Club America and that everything they do is completely optional; I am simply trying to give an explanation as to where the discomfort surrounding the formation of the club comes from. That being said, the students at Hamilton involved with Club America have done nothing wrong and the hate they are getting is not justified.
Should Club America have a place at Hamilton despite their affiliation to an intolerant organization? Only time will tell.
Sources
U.S. religious groups and their political leanings | Pew Research Center
