On Aug. 25, an off-campus organization called Turning Point USA visited WSU Vancouver during the Week of Welcome’s Back to School BBQ. Seeking to establish a chapter at the university, the group voiced their opinions associated with pro-choice vaccinations, mask requirements and the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to TPUSA gathering on the quad, staff and students were asked how organizations like this might facilitate new conversations that surround political topics related to public health concerns and safety.
TPUSA was founded by conservative activist and radio talk show host, Charlie Kirk, and aims to be a “pro-America” group with the mission to “Identify, educate, train and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government,” according to their website.
Setting up a table in front of the library building, the organization provided a sign-up sheet, encouraging students to promote their chapter. Savannah Reynolds, a student at Columbia River High School and secretary member of the TPUSA chapter, said the group decided to visit WSU Vancouver to expand their organization’s presence in Washington state.
“We like to talk to kids to see what they believe and how it aligns with our group. Personally, I believe in freedom of choosing what you want to put into your body, and freedom of speech and being able to vocalize on either side. … So just for our chapter in Washington state, this is one of the first campuses that opened up, and we wanted to make sure that anybody who believed the same way we do or who felt alone, could express their ideas and their knowledge,” Reynolds said.
When asked about their opinions on vaccination requirements and wearing masks during the pandemic, TPUSA members expressed that getting vaccinated, or wearing masks should be a choice and not a mandate. Caleb Hall, a representative of TPUSA, explained how the nationwide mask mandates, and the COVID-19 vaccine, should be optional rather than a requirement by the government, regardless of approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
“With the mask mandates, we’re looking at the choice of what you want to do with your body in this scenario. What we feel with the vaccine specifically is that you shouldn’t have to do that. People say we went from total freedom to ‘show me your papers’ pretty quick.” – Caleb Hall
“Vaccines have been approved by the FDA for years. It’s been your choice in high school and so on. You can write an exemption saying your parents don’t agree. I’m personally fully vaccinated, but as far as [the vaccine] goes, there has never been a mandate like this,” Hall said.
However, according to Healthline, a medical information website, state vaccine mandates have been around since the 1850s and the first mandate introduced was in Massachusetts to prevent diseases such as smallpox in U.S. schools. Additionally, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website claims every state has a set requirement of laws that prohibit students from entering educational institutions, unless they have received certain vaccines. Often, schools will require official vaccination record paperwork as provided by a medical professional.
(Emily Baumann/ The VanCougar)
Commenting on TPUSA’s visitation to campus, WSU Vancouver student, Joseph Tijerina, a junior digital technology and culture major, said the mask mandate is necessary as the university continues to host in-person classes. Moreover, he explained how organizations like TPUSA might negatively influence public opinion by encouraging others not to wear masks and ignore safety precautions.
“I feel like WSUV has made it pretty clear that we need to be wearing masks. However, I think
these kinds of organizations are counterproductive and I know not every single student at WSU Vancouver is necessarily for masks, but even those who are just wearing masks to be on campus, this is pushing them a little bit more [towards the organization],” Tijerina said. “They feel like there’s people who believe in the same thing as them. It’s dangerous because then you know more people will rise up and not wear masks when we really should be wearing it.”
Speaking on WSU Vancouver’s policies towards organizations such as TPUSA appearing on campus, Domanic Thomas, vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment, said the group abided by the governor’s orders and had accounted for safe protocols when protesting outside on campus grounds. When asked how public health and safety might intersect with the first amendment, he said laws protecting free speech at the university can change alongside state policies.
“There are state laws around the ability of people to congregate on public campuses. … So let’s go to what very well could be the next governor’s mandate, masking outdoors. If that is the case, where all students, folks have to wear masks outdoors, and somebody was not in compliance with that, we can ask them to leave based on that, and not on the content, but rather the mask, and the policy,” Thomas said.
Thomas also explained that groups like TPUSA visiting campus presents an opportunity to facilitate important conversations between students, staff and faculty.
“I would say, I look at it as an opportunity for our campus to be educated. … I support the idea of anyone’s activism to get their point across. I hope that it aligns with the mission, values and what we [as a university] put forward, but in times of contrast is when we get to galvanize as a group and as a community to really reiterate and examine our values, to then, [either] be stronger in them, or reconsider some. My hope is that we would really look at [those values], and lift them up higher than we did before,” Thomas said.
While the pandemic is still impacting lives across the country, the university could anticipate more independent organizations on campus expressing free speech as they elect to comment on institutional policies and protocols related to public health. In turn, ongoing conversations about the COVID-19 pandemic are sure to circulate between students, staff and faculty at WSU Vancouver.
To learn more about the COVID-19 pandemic, click here for additional resources, and visit this data tracker which outlines vaccine delivery, cases, deaths and hospitalizations in your area.
Olivia is a senior studying English at WSU Vancouver.