By Long Island Attorney Paul A. Lauto, Esq.
St. John's University has denied students the opportunity to form a chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) on its Queens campus for the third time since 2018. What may have initially appeared to be a routine administrative decision has now, after repeated rejections, generated questions about hypocrisy, consistency and identity at the Catholic institution.
St. John’s defines itself as a Catholic and Vincentian university grounded in faith, human dignity and open intellectual inquiry. It promotes inclusion and dialogue as core values of its campus culture. In fact, the university formally recognizes and supports a wide range of student organizations, including Muslim student associations and Arab cultural groups. These organizations are free to host events, reserve campus space and participate fully in student life. Their presence is often highlighted as evidence of the university’s commitment to diversity.
Notwithstanding, the Christian Right aligned conservative organization TPUSA has now been denied recognition three separate times at the Catholic university. That pattern raises reasonable concerns about whether standards are being applied evenly. If there are neutral and policy based reasons for the denials, the university owes its students a clear and transparent explanation. In the absence of such clarity, the repeated rejection of TPUSA appears less like a procedural matter and more like bias ideological gatekeeping. When a Catholic institution appears more comfortable recognizing non-Christian faith based groups than a Christian Right aligned organization, it creates animosity, derision and confusion about what its religious identity truly means in practice.
Inclusion cannot mean welcoming every perspective except one that in some circles may be politically unpopular. If St. John’s believes in dialogue and intellectual diversity, it should trust students to engage with differing viewpoints rather than prevent them from organizing. After three denials, students are left wondering whether or not inclusion at a Catholic university applies to all faith based perspectives, or only to some.
Long Island Lawyer
Paul A. Lauto, Esq.
www.liattorney.com
St. John's University has denied students the opportunity to form a chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) on its Queens campus for the third time since 2018. What may have initially appeared to be a routine administrative decision has now, after repeated rejections, generated questions about hypocrisy, consistency and identity at the Catholic institution.
St. John’s defines itself as a Catholic and Vincentian university grounded in faith, human dignity and open intellectual inquiry. It promotes inclusion and dialogue as core values of its campus culture. In fact, the university formally recognizes and supports a wide range of student organizations, including Muslim student associations and Arab cultural groups. These organizations are free to host events, reserve campus space and participate fully in student life. Their presence is often highlighted as evidence of the university’s commitment to diversity.
Notwithstanding, the Christian Right aligned conservative organization TPUSA has now been denied recognition three separate times at the Catholic university. That pattern raises reasonable concerns about whether standards are being applied evenly. If there are neutral and policy based reasons for the denials, the university owes its students a clear and transparent explanation. In the absence of such clarity, the repeated rejection of TPUSA appears less like a procedural matter and more like bias ideological gatekeeping. When a Catholic institution appears more comfortable recognizing non-Christian faith based groups than a Christian Right aligned organization, it creates animosity, derision and confusion about what its religious identity truly means in practice.
Inclusion cannot mean welcoming every perspective except one that in some circles may be politically unpopular. If St. John’s believes in dialogue and intellectual diversity, it should trust students to engage with differing viewpoints rather than prevent them from organizing. After three denials, students are left wondering whether or not inclusion at a Catholic university applies to all faith based perspectives, or only to some.
Long Island Lawyer
Paul A. Lauto, Esq.
www.liattorney.com
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