Rutgers University’s administration is intensifying its efforts to oversee the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter, demanding elections to replace key officers who led a petition to remove Antifa-aligned professor Mark Bray. The initiative by Neela Patel, the executive director for student centers and activities, aims to ensure the TPUSA chapter adheres to rigorous university policies. These policies require officers to be full-time undergraduate students at Rutgers University — New Brunswick with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0, excluding first-semester students from eligibility for officer positions. Patel explicitly outlined the necessity for the TPUSA chapter to hold elections by November 19, emphasizing adherence to these guidelines.
The situation escalated after Karima Woodyard, Rutgers’ director for student involvement and leadership, issued a directive to remove both Megyn Doyle, the chapter’s treasurer, and Ava Kwan, the outreach coordinator, from their roles, citing their ineligibility to hold executive board positions due to their campus affiliations. Doyle, a student at Rutgers Newark, and Kwan, a graduate student, were deemed ineligible for leadership roles within the TPUSA chapter, which is classified as an undergraduate student organization for the New Brunswick campus. Woodyard’s intervention reflects the administration’s stringent enforcement of these criteria, potentially impacting the chapter’s operational integrity.
Meanwhile, the TPUSA chapter’s petition to remove Bray, an assistant teaching professor cited for his past statements supporting Antifa, ignited a broader controversy. Bray, who has since relocated abroad for safety, claims to have faced doxxing and death threats. His involvement with Antifa is underscored by his publication, ‘Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,’ which promotes militant anti-fascism and channels proceeds to the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund. The chapter’s actions, however, have sparked disputes over the university’s adherence to its policies, with Doyle and Kwan questioning the timing and motives behind the administrative intervention. They assert that the administration’s enforcement of rules appears selective, raising concerns about transparency and due process.
In an email to Patel, Kwan argued that the timing of the investigation suggested a deliberate misuse of procedures, especially due to their public opposition to Bray. The situation has drawn attention to the broader implications of campus activism and the role of universities in mediating controversial public discourse. Rutgers has maintained its stance that TPUSA is a recognized student organization, emphasizing the need for compliance while working to resolve the compliance issues to ensure the chapter’s continued operations on campus.