Columbia resident Sadie Slusher said she was heartbroken when she learned Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk had been killed. She felt a desire to have her voice heard. So, she joined USC's Turning Point chapter.
Kirk was killed during an event at Utah Valley University in September. He traveled to colleges and universities across the United States to hold live debates.
Turning Point USA focuses on conservative political activism on college campuses, according to USC's chapter's Garnet Gate page. USC's chapter has its own social media following, including a 15,000-follower Instagram page. It runs tabling events and hosts conservative guest speakers on campus.
Chapter President Mia Weathers said it saw a surge in new membership in the days following Kirk’s death. The new members include both USC students and non-student members.
“I heard from a lot of people that they'd always wanted to get involved, but now they felt as if they needed to get involved,” Weathers said. “And a lot of the people that have joined have been coming consistently.”
USC's Turning Point chapter Vice President Jacob Whisenant said the organization surpassed 400 registered members. Prior to Kirk's death, the chapter had around 50 to 100 members, according to Whisenant.
The chapter's first meeting after Kirk’s death had an attendance of more than 100 and had to be held in the Russell House theater, where they continue to hold meetings weekly, Weathers said. The chapter previously met in a smaller side room of the Russell House, according to Whisenant.
First-year accounting and finance major Lynnette Keating said Kirk's death devastated her. She attended the chapter's vigil for Kirk, and went to her first meeting after, she said.
“It didn't feel like I had just heard about a stranger passing. It felt like somebody I knew and deeply cared about had passed," Keating said.
First-year social work student Logan Duree said he had planned to join Turning Point USA since high school. When he heard about Kirk's death, he realized it was time to get involved, he said.
“As events kept on unfolding and more information kept on coming out, I was like, ‘I can't be scared to say what I stand up for and what I believe in,’” Duree said. “And I was like, ‘Turning Point is the organization I need to join if I'm trying to do that.’”
USC students aren’t the only ones getting involved. Slusher said she left college in 2022 but began participating in USC's Turning Point chapter after Kirk’s death.
“It's strange to be back in this environment, but also it feels wonderful," Slusher said. “It's just amazing to be with people who are like-minded like me, who are also forging their careers while I'm forging my own in a different way.”
Slusher said Kirk’s death was the first time she felt grief as an adult. She attended Kirk’s memorial service in Glendale, Arizona, and the experience was one of the most spectacular of her life, she said.
“It was a beautiful moment of unity for those of us who are believers in Christ, of worship, of coming together to support free speech and to stand up and say, ‘We stand with Charlie, and we stand with each other,’” Slusher said.
Weathers said some non-college-aged people from the Columbia community have also come to meetings to show support. An elderly man named Neil Derrick came to one of the chapter’s recent meetings and said they gave him faith in the future, Weathers said.
Whisenant said USC's chapter is continuing and expanding its activities.
“Going forward, we will be more outspoken,” Whisenant said. “We will have more events, we will have more debate tables, and we will continue the conversations that need to be had because any idea afraid of debate is a failed idea.”
USC's chapter plans to bring Rep. Mace to campus in the spring for a speaking and Q&A event, Whisenant said. On April 21, 2025, Mace held a speaking event in the Russell House theater at the invitation of USC's Turning Point chapter. The event was marred by crowd interruptions, which derailed it and prevented Mace from completing her speech.
USC's chapter plans to make the upcoming event available to only USC students, Weathers said. She said the policy is due to the “bad actors” at the previous event.
The chapter is not overlooking safety, Whisenant said. It can request USCPD for any of its events and has done so in the past, he said.
Weathers said the chapter is open to anyone, no matter their political views, to come and have civil discussions. What matters most is to keep having conversations with the student body, she said.
“Even if you don't lean conservative in the slightest, if you're just willing to open your ears and learn more, this is the best place to do that … Our big niche is dialogue, that's what we love,” Weathers said.