EXCLUSIVE: Utah TPUSA Pres says chapter was non-partisan, was for ‘everyone who loves America’
Campus Reform interviewed Utah Valley University’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter president Caleb Chilcutt following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The president of Utah Valley University’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter told Campus Reform that his group is open to all students who “love America” regardless of party affiliation, mirroring the inclusive approach of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.
The statement follows Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10 during his “American Comeback” tour stop at the university in Orem, Utah. In the wake of his death, Kirk has been widely memorialized for fostering bipartisan discussion on college campuses, where he would engage in dialogue whether a student was a supporter, skeptic, or protester.
Campus Reform exclusively interviewed UVU’s TPUSA chapter president Caleb Chilcutt following the attack, learning new details about his efforts to broaden the chapter’s reach beyond traditional party lines.
“As chapter president, I made it my mission to morph our chapter to accept everyone and anyone who just loves America, regardless of if you are center, left, [or] right,” Chilcutt said.
That mission, Chilcutt explained, began with his wife, a registered Democrat who started attending chapter meetings and sparked conversation across ideological divides.
“She doesn’t necessarily believe or support the majority of what my fellow friends at the club might believe…but she is so willing to have these conversations with people, have this discourse with people to understand their point of view, and for them to understand her point of view,” he said.
Because of her involvement, Chilcutt noted, “we’ve had an outpour of other people from different political parties and different beliefs come up to us when we’re tabling [on campus] or even just checking out our events just to see out of curiosity what we do.”
According to TPUSA, the national organization is a nonprofit focused on promoting “fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.” As such, campus chapters are nonpartisan and do not endorse political candidates.
“It’s been a great opportunity to welcome everyone in with open arms, just as Charlie would, just as Christ does,” he said.
Despite the group’s inclusive stance, Chilcutt said it faced campus resistance leading up to Kirk’s visit. He recalled reaching out to protest organizers who petitioned to cancel the event.
”I contacted the protesters…and I told them, ‘Hey, regardless of where you stand, we would love for you to show up. If you hate Charlie so much, show up and tell him that…Charlie is more than happy to discuss that with you.’”
Following the event, Chilcutt reported the chapter gained over 100 new member sign-ups and more than 1,100 new Instagram followers.
“With the outreach and the outpour of love that we’ve received, I definitely see [our mission] continuing, and the use of discourse and conversations growing and being a more unified club on campus,” he said.
Chilcutt also told Campus Reform he is collaborating with university faculty and TPUSA leaders across Utah on a proposal to memorialize Kirk at UVU.
“We’re in the process of writing a bill to honor Charlie at UVU,” he said. “It’s in the very, very early stages.”
Campus Reform will continue to follow developments related to the memorial initiative.
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