An image of the lawn at Beloit College in Wisconsin is set next to one of the harassing images Republican students have received amid their efforts to start a new Turning Point USA chapter on campus. (Jocelyn Jordan and Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
According to Van Orden, his staff phoned the Beloit College President's Administrative Office to set up a phone call between the congressman and the college's President Eric Boynton on Monday. The congressman relayed that the office agreed to set up the phone call for later that afternoon.
But, a few hours before the call was supposed to take place, an attorney representing the school, Eric Rumbaugh, reached out and informed the congressman and his staff that Boynton would not be participating in the call on the advice of counsel. Seeking further clarification, the congressman personally called Rumbaugh back the same day, but his call went straight to voicemail. Van Orden left a message requesting a call back, but he told Fox News Digital that, to date, Rumbaugh has not called him back.
However, when reached for comment on this story, a Beloit college spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the voicemail had been returned a few hours earlier on Wednesday morning, two days after Van Orden left his voicemail with the president's office.
"Beloit College did receive an inquiry from Rep. Van Orden, and it is correct that the college’s representative returned the call to Rep. Van Orden’s office," a Beloit College spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. "He had had a long conversation with Rep. Van Orden’s office at that time. Rep. Van Orden called back on the afternoon of the 10th and left a message. The phone call was returned this morning, and Rep. Van Orden has not since returned our call." Van Orden's staff subsequently told Fox News Digital that the congressman intends to return their on Thursday.
The decision by a group of Beloit College students to start a new TPUSA chapter on campus occurred in early October. A major part of TPUSA's activism efforts include building support on campuses across the country through chapter clubs at various colleges and universities. TPUSA eventually even expanded to include high school chapters as well.
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Jordan and her classmates were directed by school administrators that there were a list of requirements they needed to meet before they could formally establish the club, among them – finding a faculty advisor. Every faculty member the students have asked thus far, including the dean of students, refused to help them, according to Jordan, who said she was advised to establish a group that does not have the Turning Point name attached to it.
Jordan also said a leading member of the student government on campus said that even if they were to find a faculty advisor, they still would not be able to establish a Turning Point chapter on campus because actions from the national level TPUSA organization supposedly violated Beloit College's "Student Statement of Culture" policy.
In response to the accusations, a Beloit College spokesperson denied that faculty were blocking Jordan and her classmates from establishing a TPUSA chapter, telling Fox News Digital that the school has been "in full accordance with campus policies" and that all potential clubs must follow the same list of requirements.
Pictured is another graphic the harassment campaign against Jordan and her fellow TPUSA chapter founders created. It co-opted TPUSA's logo and said, "Meet The Campus Nazis" before showing images of all the founders. (Jocelyn Jordan)
Here is one of the subsequent posts that followed the harassment campaign's "Meet The Campus Nazis" post. It highlighted Jordan and referred to her as a Nazi. (Jocelyn Jordan)
Pictured is a graphic made to harass the founders of Turning Point USA's Beloit College chapter, which shows the faces of the planned executive board members of the group around a casket of Charlie Kirk and an image of Donald Trump on the cross of Jesus Christ. (Jocelyn Jordan)
Pictured is a sexualized image of a Nazi that harassers photo-shopped an image of Jordan's face on top of. (Jocelyn Jordan)
Pictured above is one of the direct messages the hopeful Turning Point USA chapters new Instagram page received. (Jocelyn Jordan)
Pictured is one of the comments that a post from the hopeful TPUSA chapter's Instagram garnered. This was among the threats that Jordan and her classmates have faced amid their efforts to establish a new TPUSA chapter on Beloit College's campus. (Jocelyn Jordan)
Pictured is a harassing message left in the comments of a post shared by the hopeful Turing Point USA chapter's new Instagram page. (Jocelyn Jordan)
A message posted on the Instagram stories of one of the harassers, who Jordan claimed was eventually banned from campus after the individual lobbed multiple direct threats at the campus club leaders and following weeks of complaints from the Turning Point hopefuls. (Jocelyn Jordan)
"As a student, I should feel comfortable coming to campus no matter what beliefs I have, no matter what I identify as, no matter who I want to be. And, at this moment, I don't feel comfortable," Jordan told Fox News Digital.
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In addition to denying that the school was preventing Jordan and her classmates from starting their Republican student club, the school also insisted that it is "committed to fostering respectful, open inquiry and encouraging a diversity of perspectives on campus."
"The college takes all allegations of threats and harassment against students seriously, including recent ones related to the students interested in forming a Turning Point USA chapter," the college told Fox News Digital. "Beloit College expects all members of our community to practice compassion and respect towards each other. We are an educational institution, and students learn best within a safe and vibrant campus environment."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/congressman-says-he-blown-off-wisconsin-college-accused-blocking-new-tpusa-chapter