Quinn Harrer
Another controversial speaker was invited to speak on campus by the chapter of Turning Point USA at Colorado Mesa University (TPUSA-CMU).
TPUSA-CMU submitted an event request to host Charlie Kirk, the controversial founder of the national organization, on campus. In documents obtained through a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request, it was discovered the event was submitted on March 24 for April 1.
The event request was denied because “the request was made only 8 days before the proposed event and Club Advisory Board (CAB) policy requires that events be proposed at least 2 weeks in advance to allow for contracting and event management,” wrote Vice President for Finance and Administration, Michelle Quinn.
In a different CORA request to uncover who the advisor for Western Culture Club was, four other clubs were also requested. The requested “Club Organization Form” lists very basic information including the type of club, advisor and a club roster.
In these documents, Dr. Tim Casey was listed as the advisor for TPUSA-CMU and when approached about his involvement, was outraged and shocked to see his name attached to the club.
“I would hope there would be some sort of disciplinary action at a minimum for the person that filed that,” said Casey, referring to the Club Organization Forms filed by TPUSA-CMU president Jason Bias, that list Casey’s name.
He reached out to Student Life to rectify the potentially fraudulent association and it was revealed that there were multiple versions of the same clubs and that Casey’s name was associated with one of them. History Professor Dr. John Garner is listed as the advisor for the correct version of the club, according to Student Life records. Presence currently lists three different Turning Point USA club pages.
Casey was assured by Downey that this issue would be taken care of, however Dr. Casey recently received an automated email as the advisor for TPUSA-CMU to transition the club for the end of the year.
This raised concern for CAB oversight on how clubs are formed and updated. Casey seemed hopeful that the new Vice President of Student Services, Dr. Roberto Montoya, will take this issue seriously and enact some reform in club processes.
“There’s structural issues with how we form clubs and how we manage clubs and how we advise clubs,” said Casey.
President of TPUSA-CMU, Jason Bias, was approached about an interview to address these inconsistencies. After committing to a date and time, he did not show up or respond to any further communication. Director of Student Life, Trey Downey, has also reached out to the club leadership to get some answers but as of April 14 had not made contact.
According to the CORA request, Ratio Christi had former Kinesiology Professor Elizabeth Sharp listed as their advisor as recently as April 2024, but died in Nov. 2024 in her home state of Nebraska. Their Presence page does not list any advisor at this time. The documents only listed her name as the advisor.
There have been no resolutions reported by any involved parties about the discrepancies. Updates will follow as soon as they are reported.