Woke CA Christian Universities: Point Loma Nazarene Rejects a Turning Point USA Branch

Elon Musk likes to talk about the “woke mind virus.”

Indeed, it seems that wokeness has even infected California Christian universities, as two such schools recently refused to allow conservative-minded groups to form campus chapters.

The evangelical Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego this month nixed attempts by students to establish a Turning Point USA branch.

The rejection sparked an outcry online, with students and alumni contending the decision is symptomatic of how the school has ditched traditional Christianity in favor of leftist dogma. They claimed, for example, that professors mark down students who use masculine pronouns for God.

In a November 5 email to students also posted online, Point Loma Nazarene University president Kerry Fulcher sanctioned the decision by the Associated Student Body (ASB) Board of Directors.

Fulcher said the Board objected to the TPUSA “Professor’s Watch List” website that has the  stated purpose “to expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom.”

“While the applicants indicated they would not participate in the watchlist, their application included phrasing that mirrors language used on TPUSA’s website in connection with it,” Fulcher wrote. “That practice is not aligned with ASB’s purpose of fostering constructive communication and interaction between students, faculty, and administration.”

Fulcher also said the Board objected to students’ desire to be affiliated with TPUSA Faith because outside ministries are not allowed at the school. TPUSA Faith’s stated goal is to “unite the Church” and “eliminate wokeism.”

 “Their rationale also focused on the applicants’ stated intent during their presentation to affiliate with TPUSA Faith, which is not permitted under the University’s Church and Parachurch Policy,” Fulcher said. “This policy is in place to ensure that outside churches or ministry organizations, however well-intentioned, do not duplicate efforts already being led by our campus ministry team and use university resources to advance their own programming.”

TPUSA chapters were also rejected twice in 2021.

And after TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September, University officials refused to allow students to hold a formal vigil for him.

Point Loma Nazarene freshman Ginger Friess, who spearheaded the most recent effort to establish the TPUSA chapter, found the rejection highly politicized.

“TPUSA at Point Loma Nazarene University sought to create a space where students could boldly and humbly share God’s truth, equipping them to engage the world with clarity and grace,” she said in a statement.

She asked, “where are conservative Christian voices actually heard on this campus? Definitely not through invited speakers or chapel,” Friess said. “Just last week, chapel speakers, one who is on the Board of Trustees, showed a slide reading: ‘I am no better than my ancestors’ in a message about white privilege and inherited racial guilt.”

“That’s the political agenda they welcome with open arms,” she said.

Point Loma Nazarene University spokeswoman Lora Flemming did not reply to repeated requests for comment.

But  she said in a statement to Fox News that “students from a variety of backgrounds are welcomed into a community shaped by faith.”

“The outcome of this club application should not be misunderstood as a departure from our Christian mission or a rejection of conservative perspectives,” Flemming said. “Calling into question the university’s Christian identity or discrediting our ASB leaders because of disagreement over this club decision is not reflective of how Christians are called to engage with one another in truth and grace.”

After the rejection, PLNU alumnus Lidiya Harvey stirred considerable attention with a series of Instagram posts about the school.

Harvey said that while TPUSA is not permitted on campus the University has “allowed a Free Palestine protest, a No Kings gathering, a club that provides resources for chest binders and legal name changes to suit your identity, a program that hands students free condoms, candlelight vigils when Republicans take office, among other things.”

Yikes.

Harvey, a San Diego resident, told the California Globe that the “spiritual crisis” at the school is “decades” in the making.

“The university has made repeated decisions that compromise its Christian heritage,” she contended. “Over time, as progressively minded faculty and administrative staff were hired, their perspectives became integrated into the school’s culture and teaching. This was not one isolated shift but a slow accumulation of small compromises. A simple review of most of the theology department’s current faculty reveals clear patterns in their beliefs and priorities. This is why many parents have told me they believe their children walked away from the faith after attending PLNU. The crisis we see now is the result of long term mission drift, not a sudden change.”

But she still expressed some optimism about what comes next.

“It is not too late for PLNU to course correct, but doing so would require strong, decisive action and a willingness to acknowledge its mistakes rather than hide them.

“For example, recently, alumni and parents have reached out to the university with concerns about specific statements and offerings on the school’s website. Instead of addressing those concerns directly, the school simply deleted the online content. Pretending the problem does not exist is not a solution.”

Meanwhile, Vanguard University, a Christian school in Costa Mesa, balked at allowing a pro-life group to form on campus.

Vanguard says its mission is to “pursue knowledge, cultivate character, deepen faith and equip each student for a Spirit-empowered life of Christ-centered leadership and service.”

But Vanguard student Linda-Isabella Rendon says University officials contradicted that mission when they denied her permission to start a Students for Life chapter.

In her November 19 article on the Students for Life website, she asked, “Weren’t we all supposed to be living out ‘ideologically driven missions’ as Christians shining light in a fallen world? Wasn’t that what my Christian university was supposed to be preparing us for?”

She said University officials told her that “groups with ideologically driven missions” are not allowed on campus.

“This confused and frustrated me,” she wrote.

“I realized this would be a much longer process than I had anticipated, but I wasn’t going to let it die. Preborn children’s lives depend on us — so between classes and studying, I continued to fight for what God has set before me.”

But yesterday, an Instagram account apparently belonging to pro-life students on campus, said the University had backtracked and would now allow a pro-life group on campus–albeit under a different name than originally proposed.

“After further discussion with administration and some clarification, Vanguard will be approving us to be an official pro-life club on campus!!! We will be changing our name to Vanguard Lions Love Life.”

California Family Council Vice President Greg Burt told the California Globe that,”Of course we want there to be pro-life groups on every Christian college campus. And we are willing to work with these Christian colleges to make that happen. I’m glad to see Vanguard is listening to students and apparently made changes in response to student efforts.”

Vanguard University president Michael Beals did not reply to repeated requests for comment.