Turning Point USA

Leslie Mendoza, a student at Lyons Township High School, just gave a POWERFUL speech to her school board, and you need to see it:

I cannot believe how wonderful this young woman is. I have so many thoughts!

First of all, Leslie is the president of her school’s Turning Point USA chapter and has been working religiously to get the club up and running, even though the school rejected her request for TPUSA’s official club status. It’s an absolute shame that schools around the country, like LTHS, continue to discriminate against pro-freedom organizations like Turning Point. Leslie is setting a great example on how to persist instead of giving up and giving in.

Second, what Leslie says is FANTASTIC. I have a few favorite parts, but let’s start with the intro:

“Turning Point USA is a nonprofit organization that focuses on teaching students about the benefits of the free market, limited government, the principles of freedom, and American values in general. Most kids my age don’t learn those anymore.”

Okay… BOOM! I love her already. Our schools are failing our children.

Regarding the school’s claim that they denied her chapter from becoming an official club on campus, Leslie said:

“Our Director of Student Activities then claimed that the school cannot and will not allow 501(c)3s to be official clubs. If you were to all go to the LTHS website right now and look at the list of clubs, TEN of them would be 501(c)3s. So what is it? What is it?”

Again, WOW. If there’s one thing I tell every student to do before entering a debate or speaking their mind publicly, it’s to come with facts and be rooted in a solid understanding of the situation. Leslie did her research before stepping up to the microphone, and it hugely impacted her ability to deliver her message.

Here’s my last favorite quote: “There used to be a time in our nation where people could openly express themselves no matter where they fell on the political spectrum. There used to be a time where you could say you were proud of having the privilege of being an American without being called a white supremacist.”

The ending was too good, but you have to watch the video to actually see it. As she finishes, she thanks the parents in the crowd for their support, and says “we will not let you guys down.”

As she walks off away from the microphone, the camera pans off of her and back to the solemn U-shaped table of school board members and officials, who, in my opinion, look completely pathetic and guilty of complacency in the face of totalitarian Leftism.

Leslie Mendoza reflected on the culture war that younger generations are in the middle of saying, “You don’t realize how serious the suppression against conservatives is until it’s happening to you. As frustrating as this process has been, we still have a battle to win. Changing our mission is unnecessary and my team will not be revising or resubmitting any part of our proposal. We will continue to stand our ground and work with the board of education and administrators in hopes that this simple discrepancy will soon be resolved.”

We need more students like Leslie to stand up against tyranny and we need the adults in their communities to rally and support them. Together, we can take back our schools, our boards of education and our country.