The Best Lesson I Learned as a TPUSA Campus Activist
When I was a college sophomore, I had never heard of Turning Point USA. I didn’t know who Charlie Kirk was, and was completely unfamiliar with the term “Socialism Sucks,” until I scrolled past a Facebook ad for the annual Young Women’s Leadership Summit in Dallas, TX. Something in my gut told me I had to attend, so I took a chance and jumped on a plane to Dallas. From the first moment of that first conference, I fell in love with activism and advocacy for other young conservatives, and I knew I had found my home for my values.
Coming back to campus the following year, I started a TPUSA chapter at Colorado State University, and instantly received significant backlash from my leftist college campus. Just like many of you, I was labeled the terrible things campus conservatives are often called—white supremacist, racist, anti-woman, transphobic, the list goes on and on. More severe backlash began to affect my college experience after I received a handful of death threats, threats of violence, and had my address doxxed online. Quickly, however, I noticed the tide beginning to change on campus as more people joined me tabling, students donned “Big Gov Sucks” buttons on their backpacks, and my peers began questioning their professors in class. This changing tide exponentially grew after my chapter and I hosted Charlie Kirk, Candace Owens, and Dennis Prager on campus, exposing thousands of students to conservative ideas they hadn’t otherwise heard in their classrooms.
I learned despite the backlash, name calling, threats, and doxxing, sometimes all it takes to start a cultural revolution on campus is one person willing to stand on the frontlines of our culture war. Some others simply were afraid of being the first one to put themselves and their reputation out there in the name of conservative values, and once they saw someone else successfully stand tall, they joined the fight.
That person, whether you believe it right now or not, can be you. Not every moment for me was easy, and there were many times as a campus activist I wondered if it was all worth it after the loss of friendships and after one too many name callings. Seeing confidence rise in sharing conservatism among my peers, however, always made it worth it for me, and gave me the strength I needed to push forward. You have the same courage and warrior spirit inside of you, even if you’ve never used it before. Maybe this semester is the perfect time to share your courage with your campus—you never know who it may positively impact and how much your campus may change.
