After a Maryland college student was denied permission to start a conservative club, she decided to sue her school.
Earlier this year, Hagerstown Community College (HCC) denied Moriah DeMartino’s request to start a Turning Point USA club, saying that such a club would be “too political.”
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Turning Point USA is a non-partisan organization that aims to educate students about fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government, and has active chapters on many college campuses across the country.
School administrators told DeMartino that she was welcome to join the political science club, but students are not allowed to “start new clubs that duplicate the purpose and mission of existing clubs” under Hagerstown’s student organization policy. Administrators further said she could start a Republican club instead, but only if she was also able to convince other students to start a Democrat club at the same time.
Turning Point’s news site Hypeline reported on Thursday afternoon that DeMartino is now filing a lawsuit against the school.
“There is a lack of consistency on campus when it comes to student organizations,” DeMartino told Hypeline. “There are clearly other overlapping mission statements from organizations at Hagerstown.”
“As an educational institution Hagerstown says they value diversity and freedom of speech, however if you do not agree with the administration your beliefs are disregarded,” she continued. “This this not about silencing student groups that have different viewpoints from Turning Point, it’s about protecting our First Amendment rights.”
