Debate erupts as Eagle County high school students launch TPUSA chapters

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice

When students at Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain high schools set out to form local chapters of Turning Point USA, they probably didn’t expect the stir it would cause. At Eagle Valley, the club had just cleared the approval process when pushback started rolling in.

Shortly afterward, community member Jen Winkeller shared a post in the Vail Moms!! Facebook group citing Superintendent Phil Qualman’s confirmation that the group “identified a staff sponsor.” Winkeller encouraged those opposed to the club to “sign the petition” and “protest peacefully,” linking to the Change.org petition.

Vail Moms!! Facebook Group

The petition claims that TPUSA “routinely engaged in racist, homophobic, and sexist hate speech” and asserting that the organization did not belong in a taxpayer-funded public school. Over two weeks the petition gathered just over 220 signatures — a modest number in a district serving thousands of families.

In response, TPUSA supporters and local residents defended the students’ right to form the club under the Equal Access Act, which prohibits public schools receiving federal funds from discriminating against student organizations based on their religious, political, or philosophical beliefs.

A Teacher Speaks Out

Battle Mountain High School teacher Christopher Buono, who agreed to sponsor his school’s TPUSA chapter, later addressed the growing controversy in an essay he posted to the Vail Moms!! Facebook group titled “Turning Point USA: Eagle County Friend or Foe?”

“As might be expected, the Facebook responses ran the gamut of: ‘This is wonderful!’ to ‘Nazis are in our midst!’” Buono wrote. “But as the new BMHS TPUSA advisor, I do find myself moved to clear up some misconceptions.”

Essay provided to RMV by Chris Buono

Buono addressed several viral quotes used to attack TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk. “Charlie Kirk did not say gay people should be stoned,” he explained. “He intentionally chose an outlandish Bible verse to prove that in our modern era we don’t take every word literally. Snopes calls the anti-Kirk assertion ‘False.’ Even author Stephen King apologized for suggesting Kirk said such a thing.”

In a follow-up email, Buono elaborated, “There is a place in education—as well as in our society—for all viewpoints,” he continued. “Calls to vilify and silence the other are nothing more than attempts to dehumanize the enemy. As educators, our highest calling is in teaching students how to think for themselves—not what to think. For these reasons, it should not be surprising to us that students are seeking a safe place such as Turning Point USA chapters to express their views on a variety of topics, without having to endure attacks from those with other opinions.”

Battle Mountain TPUSA Chapter Organizers Speak Out

Following teacher Christopher Buono’s public defense of the students who launched Battle Mountain High School’s new Turning Point USA chapter, the sisters who organized the club—Scarlett and Lexi—shared why they decided to move forward despite the controversy.

“After Charlie Kirk was killed, we saw an opportunity to start a TPUSA chapter at our school to help continue the TPUSA mission here in the Vail Valley,” they said. “We wanted to build a space where students can share their political views freely and respectfully. TPUSA stands for limited government, individual freedom, and free markets—values we hope to represent while promoting kindness and open-minded discussion.”

For them, the purpose goes far beyond politics. “Our biggest goal is to make sure every member feels safe and respected when they share their views,” they said. “We want to focus on real conversations instead of arguments, and debates that help us understand each other rather than divide us.”

They also addressed the online misinformation that has fueled local criticism. “A lot of people assume TPUSA is a super-religious or extreme Republican group that targets certain communities, which isn’t true at all,” they explained. “Someone even called it a ‘Nazi organization’ on Vail Moms, which couldn’t be further from reality. This assumption was not only extremely hurtful but is also a wildly inaccurate representation of who we are as people and the club we are pursuing. TPUSA is about encouraging political discussion and educating students on civic engagement—not about hate or exclusion.”

For Scarlett and Lexi, the message to the community comes down to this. “Our goal is to promote open, respectful conversations where everyone, no matter what they believe, feels truly heard and valued.”

Addressing Mischaracterized Claims

The Change.org petition and other sentiments from opposing Vail Moms!! members repeated several well-known claims about Charlie Kirk, many of which have been debunked. Critics alleged Kirk compared mask mandates to slavery and hosted “racist and anti-LGBTQ” speakers. Kirk’s actual 2020 statement compared mask mandates, not masks themselves, to a loss of personal liberty: “You can’t force people to wear what they don’t believe they need—freedom means choice.”

Likewise, his conferences have featured speakers across a range of backgrounds, including conservative Black, Latino, and LGBTQ activists. 

On his show, Kirk has repeatedly emphasized compassion over division: “My prayer for people who believe they’re trans is they would stop waging war on their body and instead learn to love the body God gave them.” And during a college Q&A in 2025, he told a Black student, “I appreciate your honesty in coming up here. You’ve got so much potential; don’t let anyone dim that.”

On an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show in 2021, Kirk told viewers, “I don’t judge people based on the color of their skin. Race is totally irrelevant to a person’s value. What matters is your behavior, your decisions, and your character.” 

At the 2022 TPUSA Faith Summit, he returned to that same point as he told the crowd, “We are not defined by our race. We are defined by our relationship with God and our character. That’s it.” 

Taken together, his remarks reflect an emphasis on compassion even toward those who disagree with him.

TPUSA’s Code of Conduct

According to Turning Point USA’s official Code of Conduct, every student member is expected to uphold a standard of lawful, respectful civic engagement. The code prohibits harassment, discrimination, or any form of hate speech, and requires all members to “act with integrity, honesty, and civility toward others.”

It explicitly states that TPUSA members must “follow all school and district rules,” “avoid behavior that reflects poorly on the organization,” and “foster an environment where diverse opinions can be expressed without fear of reprisal.” The code further bans any conduct “that demeans or intimidates others based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or political belief.”

In short, the same standards of decorum and inclusivity required of any student club also apply to TPUSA chapters—a detail largely absent from local criticisms and online petitions.

District and Community Response

Eagle County Schools Communications Director Matthew Miano confirmed the chapters were approved under federal law. “We received a couple of letters from parents that had concerns over this organization starting a chapter at our schools,” Miano told Real Vail. “We explained to them the Equal Access Act (1984) ensures public secondary schools that receive federal funds cannot discriminate against student clubs based on their religious, political, or philosophical beliefs. We encourage students to demonstrate leadership and civic engagement, whether they are conservative or liberal. This is an example of a student-led club that has followed all the necessary protocols to meet on site during non-class time.”

Eagle County resident Lori Diversey supported the move: “Getting a TPUSA student club in all high schools is so important. Kids need to engage with like-minded kids.” She added that “TPUSA club fills a void in the community giving conservative-minded young adults the opportunity to discuss topics important to them, share ideas, and learn how to speak, organize, fundraise, and campaign effectively.”

Others pushed back against the pushback with comments such as “If you don’t want to go, don’t go. Or maybe go and really listen.I am appalled by so much hate, vile responses, and anger in some of these comments.” and “Are you trying to intimidate high school kids who want to gather with like minded people? That is not ok!”

Vail Moms!! Facebook Group

The bigger question

Despite accusations, there’s no evidence of hate speech or misconduct by any TPUSA students in Eagle County. Under the Equal Access Act, their right to form a club mirrors that of every other group—political, religious, or otherwise.

The students also have the right to organize with peers who share their views, so long as they adhere to both district policies and TPUSA’s code of conduct. Twisting facts or repeating claims out of context doesn’t change that fundamental right.

In the end, the dispute in Eagle County isn’t only about politics—it’s about whether schools can still be places of curiosity and open conversation, or if fear of labels will start closing those doors.