Unrest on USC campus as messages containing racial and homophobic slurs surface within organization

Recently messages containing racial and homophobic slurs have surfaced between members of the Turning Point USA - USC Chapter and a USC Student Senator. TPUSA is a nonprofit organization which stands for conservative values. TPUSA’s sister organizations include Turning Point Action and Students for Trump.

These messages date back to Wednesday, Feb. 16. The University of South Carolina – Columbia National Association for the Advancement of Colored People made a statement regarding this incident. The UofSC NAACP said that hateful rhetoric will not be tolerated on campus, and they are hoping for the Turning Point USA organization to be dissolved.

According to their official statement, “Black students belong at UofSC, LGBTQ+ students belong at UofSC, and to have an organization that spouts hateful rhetoric being allowed to operate on this campus is an embarrassment.”

The NAACP also requested that students affected by this incident use their voice to advocate for change. “We ask all students affected by this rhetoric to speak up and stand against hate, and let the University of South Carolina-Columbia Administration know that we will not tolerate racist nor homophobic environments.”

The NAACP of UofSC has stated that they expect the members of TPUSA who were involved in the incident to attend Inclusion and Equity or Anti-racism Training, or give formal apologies for their behavior. They also expect that the organization be dissolved or censured, and that the Student Senator involved will no longer be part of the Senate Body.