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A Republican congressman seeking support for a constituent who accused her college of obstructing attempts to start a new Turning Point USA chapter on campus has college administrators reportedly “shocked” after he tried to have a conversation with the school to better understand what was happening.
Rep. Derek Van Orden, R-Wis., sought to gather facts related to allegations from a Beloit College student that her college is preventing her from establishing a new Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter on campus. TPUSA was a conservative campus activist nonprofit founded by assassinated activist Charlie Kirk.
Additionally, student Jocelyn Jordan accused her school of failing to adequately respond to the campaign of harassment she and her classmates faced as a result of their efforts to start a new TPUSA club on campus. The harassment initially included disturbing photos posted to the group’s new Instagram page, referring to Jordan and her co-founders as Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, and white supremacists, but it eventually evolved into threats.
“Our office reached out to Beloit College in good faith to discuss this matter and it was blown away,” Van Orden said in a statement posted on his official X account. “This is unacceptable. Every student, regardless of their political beliefs, deserves the right to organize, speak freely, and participate fully in campus life without fear of retribution.”
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A photo of a lawn at Beloit College in Wisconsin is juxtaposed with one of the harassing images received by student Republicans amid their efforts to start a new chapter at Turning Point USA on campus. (Jocelyn Jordan and Global Image Group via Getty Images)
According to Van Orden, his staff telephoned the administrative office of Beloit College’s president to set up a phone call between the congressman and college president Eric Boynton on Monday. The congressman relayed that the office agreed to a phone call later that afternoon.
However, a few hours before the call was scheduled to take place, the attorney representing the school, Eric Rambo, reached out and informed the congressman and his staff that Boynton would not be participating in the call on the attorney’s advice. Seeking further clarification, the congressman personally called Rambo the same day, but his call went straight to voicemail. Van Orden left a message asking for a call back, but told Fox News Digital that Rambo has not contacted him yet.
However, when reached for comment for this story, a Beloit College spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the voicemail was returned a few hours before Wednesday morning, two days after Van Orden left his voicemail at the president’s office.
“Beloit College received an inquiry from Rep. Van Orden, and it is correct that a college representative returned the call to Rep. Van Orden’s office,” a Beloit College spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “He had a long conversation with Rep. Van Orden’s office at that time. Rep. Van Orden called the afternoon of the 10th and left a message. The phone call was returned this morning, and Rep. Van Orden has not returned our call since.” Van Orden’s staff later told Fox News Digital that the congressman intends to bring them back on Thursday.
The decision was made by a group of Beloit College students to start a new TPUSA chapter on campus in early October. A large part of TPUSA’s activity efforts involves building support on campuses across the country through chapter clubs at various colleges and universities. TPUSA eventually expanded to include high school classes as well.
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Jordan and her classmates were instructed by school administrators that there was a list of requirements they had to meet before they could officially create the club, one of which was finding a faculty advisor. All the faculty members the students have requested so far, including the dean of students, have declined to help, according to Jordan, who said she was advised to start a group not named Turning Point.
Jordan also said that a prominent member of the student government on campus said that even if they found a faculty advisor, they would not be able to create a Turning Point chapter on campus because the actions taken nationally by TPUSA supposedly violated Beloit College’s “Student Culture Statement” policy.
In response to the accusations, a Beloit College spokesperson denied that faculty members prevented Jordan and her classmates from starting a TPUSA chapter, telling Fox News Digital that the school was “fully compliant with campus policies” and that all potential clubs must follow the same list of requirements.
Rep. Derek Van Orden told Fox News Digital that his hometown community of 5,500 people was shaken by the brutal crime. (Provided by the office of Congressman Derek Van Orden)
After Jordan and her teammates began promoting their club on social media in mid-October, a harassment campaign targeting students for their efforts quickly followed.
Jordan said the university ignored students’ initial concerns about harassment, telling them there was nothing faculty members could do because they could not identify who was posting the harassing posts. When the harassment turned into threats, Jordan later filed a police report, a move that appeared to spur greater action from the college, which eventually banned one of the main harassers from campus, who Jordan said was a graduate student working in campus food service at the time.
“As a student, I should feel comfortable coming to campus regardless of my beliefs, regardless of what I identify with, regardless of who I want to be. And at this moment, I don’t feel comfortable,” Jordan told Fox News Digital.
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In addition to denying that the school was preventing Jordan and her classmates from starting the Student Republican Club, the school also insisted that it was “committed to promoting respectful and open inquiry and encouraging diversity of viewpoints on campus.”
“The college takes all allegations of threats and harassment against students very seriously, including recent ones involving students interested in forming a Turning Point USA chapter,” the college told Fox News Digital. “Beloit College expects all members of our community to practice compassion and respect for one another. We are an educational institution, and students learn best in a safe and vibrant campus environment.”