St. John’s is in the national media again, and unfortunately, it’s over something utterly ridiculous.

This past November, the University’s student government (SGi) conducted its semesterly Power to Organize (P2O) application process for students interested in making their organizations fully recognized and funded. 

Just as in any year, some were chosen, some were not. One of the organizations that missed the cut was the Turning Point USA Chapter. This wasn’t the first time they failed to gain recognition, either, as several other students had attempted to apply since the chapter initially lost its status in 2018.

Could there have been some bias involved in this decision and previous ones? Absolutely.

Every member of the SGi Senate was elected to represent the best interests of their college and grade, so naturally certain types of organizations will take precedence over others depending on each senator’s background. 

Was this year’s exclusion of the Turning Point USA Chapter a deliberate act of “liberal bias” as the New York Post and the chapters President made it out to be? Absolutely not. 

For starters, it failed to meet the core criteria of a newly funded organization. 

The Treasurer of the Turning Point Chapter emphasized in the national organizations article that “they highlighted the absence of any campus organizations dedicated to civil discourse and open political dialogue.”

Here’s the problem: the University already has an organization, the Political Student Union, dedicated to political discussion and debate. And, as someone who also went through the process of starting an organization, one of the key factors of consideration SGi laid out was the uniqueness of the club. 

That fact alone, which conveniently was never brought up by the Turning Point Treasurer, nor any of the professional “journalists” from national media, gives a pretty succinct explanation as to why the club wasn’t selected this time, or in any of the previous P2O processes.

The Treasurer, in that same article, and journalist Brittany Bernstein, in a November article for the National Review, also tried to back up this claim by highlighting the existence of the Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Spectrum club as political organizations. 

This statement is mind-boggling. Not just because of the ridiculous, racist and homophobic insinuation that a club representing a minority group and an organization standing with and highlighting a country currently being genocided are both politically controversial. But also due to the fact that several “reputable” news publications presented this claim as valid.

Is the Latin American Students Organization political? How about the Irish Society? Part of me thinks these outlets would say no to that one.

The final nail in the coffin, which invalidates both the newsworthiness and credibility of the Treasurer’s claim, is that even if they followed the criteria, and even if clubs like Spectrum were overtly political, the left-wing bias claim still falls apart. 

As mentioned earlier, I myself also applied for recognition this past semester. 

Just like Turning Point USA, our club, Peace Action St. John’s, was previously recognized. And just like Turning Point USA, we missed the cut. 

SGi sent out the same rejection email they received, and when I replied and asked for an explanation, they responded using the same language. 

Our club isn’t a right-wing organization; quite the opposite, actually. Just like the ideals of the statewide NGO, the organization is openly anti-military, anti-nuclear proliferation, anti-ICE, etc. 

Were we disappointed and felt as though SGi made the wrong decision? Yes. 

Did we complain and write a press brief with the state-wide organization? No.

Did left-leaning news outlets cover the rejection, framing it as another instance of “conservative bias” ? No.

Did we use the opportunity to publicly misrepresent the purposes of other student organizations? Of course not. 

This is because those on the right, regardless of how they present their opposition as “snowflakes” or “sissies,” love playing the victim. 

Charlie Kirk’s death was horrific, and political violence must be rooted out entirely. But that doesn’t mean the man didn’t have repulsive views, nor does it mean Student Governments across the country should give free passes to those looking to receive funding for his organization.

To Fox News, The New York Post and The National Review: Find something better to report on. There are plenty of negative stories surrounding St. John’s University, such as its recent partnership with Customs and Border Protection.

This is certainly not one of them. In a time of such political turmoil, corporate media has to do better.