Membership in the Turning Point USA chapter at Fort Lewis College in Durango has stayed flat over the past year, according to the chapter’s president, who says students are reluctant to join because of fear of social and academic retaliation.
“In general, a lot of students are afraid of being ostracized by their peers or … not being [accepted] — it’s a very minority group,” TPUSA Chapter President Rachel Cook told Fox News Digital. “Being a conservative on campus or even having conservative-leaning beliefs is not a popular idea here. We have seen a lot of disrespect and not a lot of people who are open to having civil discussion and discourse.”
Cook said she took over leadership of the chapter to push for more ideological diversity at the college, arguing the campus needs more balanced political dialogue.
She described specific incidents of hostility toward chapter members and allied activists. “An officer has gotten spit at when we table, and we have had people be harassed,” Cook said. “We work a lot with pro-life community members who come to campus and do their advocacy whenever we’re not able to stand with them. Even in these past couple of weeks, people have come up to them, ripped their signs and attempted to hit them. A lot of people choose not to press charges.”
David Peters, former chair of the La Plata County GOP and a retired Chevron executive, said the chapter’s growth has been stunted by lingering fallout from the group’s contentious founding.
“Their membership has been essentially flat. The issue is that a lot of students are reluctant to join the chapter for fear of retaliation,” Peters said.
A Contentious Founding
The chapter’s struggles trace back nearly a year to a fight over its very existence. Then-senior Jonah Flynn first pushed to establish a TPUSA chapter at Fort Lewis. The Associated Students of Fort Lewis College student government initially rejected the proposal, then reversed course and approved the chapter during an emergency session.
That vote drew immediate pushback. A Fort Lewis College campus police report said roughly 70 people attended the tense meeting, with verbal confrontations spilling into the building lobby. Much of the opposition was captured on video obtained by Fox News Digital.
College Response
A Fort Lewis College spokesperson said campus safety remains a priority and that the college has not received any harassment reports involving TPUSA chapter members this academic year.
“Fort Lewis College takes the safety of our students and visitors seriously. We continue to respond to all reports of safety concerns on campus. Fort Lewis College has not received any reports this academic year involving harassment of members of the college’s TPUSA chapter. Fort Lewis College has a system in place for students to report negative experiences,” the spokesperson said.
National Backdrop
The situation in Durango unfolds against a national surge of interest in TPUSA chapters following the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. The organization has said it received more than 120,000 inquiries from students nationwide seeking to start local chapters in the aftermath.
Despite the friction on campus, Cook said she remains optimistic about the chapter’s plans for the year. “Our vision for this year is to really talk about policy coming up in Colorado that affects us as a community here,” she said. “We just finished up our vigil for Charlie Kirk, which was a beautiful memorial here at the college. We also have events planned for the Second Amendment — we are going shooting soon — and while a lot of things are still in planning, we’re really excited for everything to come this semester.”
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