At Rutgers University, a professor has formally endorsed a petition demanding the removal of the campus chapter of Turning Point USA, accusing the conservative group of promoting hate speech and inciting violence.
The petition, launched via Change.org, argues that the group’s presence fosters a hostile environment and calls on Rutgers administrators to disband the chapter. The professor who signed the petition, Tia Kolbaba, serves in the university’s religion department.
Rutgers defended the professor’s decision by reaffirming its commitment to free speech and academic freedom, stressing that faculty and students must be able to express concerns without fear of retaliation.
Representatives of the local TPUSA chapter responded by condemning the petition as defamatory and an attempt to suppress conservative voices, insisting their group acts within First Amendment bounds.
This controversy adds to existing tensions on campus, especially as the TPUSA chapter has launched its own petition countering recent calls for Rutgers to fire a professor whom the chapter accuses of promoting militant anti-fascism.