A national student organization

In 2012, Charlie Kirk founded Turning Point USA as a non-profit organisation with the stated goal of identifying, educating, training, and organizing students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government. One of the ways they pursue this goal is through their national Club America program. This program allows high school students to create their own student-run chapters in their schools with the support of Turning Point USA. 

With over 1,200 clubs across the nation, and more than 40 here in Iowa alone, Club America is no small thing. Tens of thousands of students and young adults count themselves among this community, and this year, Ankeny has joined their ranks.

“Club America serves to empower the patriotic leaders of tomorrow. Students who lead Club America chapters will be empowered to build strong networks, spearhead impactful initiatives, help students register to vote, and inspire meaningful conversations about the foundations of a free society,” the club’s mission statement on their national website reads.

But a club is more than its mission statement. It’s the people who make it up, fulfilling this statement and adapting it to their own schools and needs. Students started the club with the help of the national organization, but it’s Ankeny students who plan the meetings and lead the club.

“Empowering people to not be afraid to express their First Amendment right, and giving people a place to have conversations,” junior and club president Allie Bruener said when asked how Club America would benefit Ankeny High School. 

Across the nation, Turning Point USA is considered a highly political and conservative organization, and Ankeny’s branch does not yet stray from this path, but it offers more than just politics to students. Opening with a prayer before moving on to open conversation about both political and polarizing, as well as lighthearted topics, Club America shows it’s more than just a partisan group.

“I’d say it was definitely way more of a conservative club. But that doesn’t really mean that people that weren’t conservative couldn’t go, “ senior Sawyer Holm said after attending Club America’s first meeting.

Unknown and unpopular

Club America, despite its apparent political significance and national scope, is largely unknown to the students of Ankeny High School. When asked for comment, dozens of students stated they had no knowledge of the club, its members, or its purpose. 

“I didn’t even know it was a thing. And then I went because I had a couple of friends running it,” Holm said. “It wasn’t very well advertised at all, but it was also their first meeting.”

In order for a club to be successful, it needs participation and recognition, something Club America is currently lacking. While they have received official school recognition, the general student body has yet to acknowledge the club. They know who Charlie Kirk is, and many even know about Turning Point USA, but when it comes to Club America, there seems to be a disconnect. 

“We had posted on social media, but with the backlash we had on social media, we didn’t want to put posters up, because we were 99 percent sure they were just going to get torn down,” sophomore and club vice president Reagan Stephenson said.

When approached for comment, these social media users shied away from an official statement, though many hinted that their motivation was more toward a dislike for Charlie Kirk, while having little knowledge or dislike of the club and its goals.

“We’re trying to just spread it through word of mouth, and that was difficult, to an extent, but after having our first meeting, we hope that a lot more people are going to be aware of it.” Stevenson concluded.

While word of mouth was enough to draw a modest turnout to the club’s first meeting, more than the leaders expected, the club may need a new approach in the future to avoid the controversy they currently face. 

“We’ve gotten a couple comments on our Instagram post,” Bruener said when asked to elaborate on this backlash. “Someone filled out our form trying to troll us.” 

Goals of Club America

While it feels more conservative to some, and others view the organization as a whole as a highly conservative program, the leaders of the club have a slightly different view. While they don’t deny the political nature of the club, their goal isn’t to convert their fellow classmates. 

“We’re not trying to push anything,” junior and club treasurer Brynna Vandewater said. “Here’s what’s going on, here’s the black and white, here’s what your rights are, go from there.”

Ankeny’s branch of Club America does not exist as a place of hate or oppression. Instead, it’s a place for students to come together, to coexist and collaborate. They seek to raise student voices here at Ankeny and give a platform to anyone who feels like their voice is lost in the clamor. 

“You can have your opinion, I just have a different one. You know, it’s totally okay. I just think that we’re giving a voice to the students who may be silenced because a lot of times in a city, a different opinion isn’t heard. So I think that giving a voice to those who don’t have one is super important,” Vandewater said.

These goals are reflected by the club’s teacher sponsor, who believes that clubs offer students the necessary opportunities to mature in our modern age.

“I feel like kids are developing their own personal opinions, values, beliefs at such a young age, or I should say a younger age than what it was when I grew up, because of our digital world, they’re exposed to a lot more things sooner than I would say I was in my generation. So I think the sooner that kids can learn how to establish their own beliefs and values and stuff, the better,” Southview teacher and club sponsor Faith Vinzant said.

Getting the club started

Starting a club here at AHS is no small feat. It takes a clear goal and structure, as well as hours of preparation and communication with school administration. Another thing necessary for student clubs to form is a teacher sponsor. 

“I was at a family member’s wedding,” Vinzant said. “One of her bridesmaids works for Turning Point USA, or the Club America organization, and she found out from someone at the wedding that I was a teacher in Ankeny, and she said that she had had some students that reached out to her that were interested in starting a chapter.” 

Jordan Berkley, a college student and Club America field representative, has been with these students since the start, helping them learn the ins and outs of starting a Club America chapter.

“I went around and asked, like, probably 20 teachers and staff, and then Jordan was actually able to find us a teacher sponsor,” Stephenson said. 

Student organizations also need a leader, a student or students motivated to get the club off the ground and put in the work to be successful. The determination and work it takes to start any club here at Ankeny is impressive, and anything can spark that motivation. 

“Shortly after Charlie’s death, I just saw people in my classes, and they were just saying these awful things about it,” Vandewater said. “So my mom was like, how about you start a Turning Point club?”

Luckily, these three students had more support than most, with the backing of a national organization that was ready and eager to help in any way they could. This support from Club America and Turning Point went beyond a field representative guiding these students through their first days and helping them find a staff sponsor. 

“[Turning Point USA] making that process easy just makes that 100 times easier for other students,” Vandewater said. “[Bruener] filled out the form, and like, I think a month later, it was at her house.”

While Club America has received national support, this isn’t necessary for starting a club here at Ankeny. If you have a goal and the motivation, then it can be done. Student clubs offer amazing opportunities for friendship, learning, and growth for all students, bringing together people who otherwise may never even meet. 

“I hesitated a little bit to start something. But, you know, once you find people who you love to work with, and have a drive to do something, it makes it so much easier,” Bruener said.