The Debate Over UHM’s New Turning Point USA Chapter: Voices from Every Side

Elle Vincioni, Staff Writer Nov 1, 2025 Updated Nov 3, 2025

In the tense aftermath of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder and right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, polarizing opinions took over social media for weeks over the divisive figure’s platform and legacy – a debate well-known at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM).

In 2018, TPUSA hosted a campus event titled “Free Speech comes to UH,” and a Q&A-style panel with Kirk and fellow right-wing commentator Candace Owens, called “White Privilege is a Myth: Change My Mind.” Challenged by a student-led petition that year to ban Turning Point USA from campus over offensive speech, the UHM chapter has been revived with a new board of young student leaders and eager members.

Founded in 2012 by an 18 year-old Kirk with the goal of promoting free-market capitalism and limited government, the non-partisan and non-profit American organization has since empowered thousands of college-age students to increase their civic engagement and political activism. Appealing particularly to young conservatives and increasingly aligning with Christian nationalism, members are encouraged to uphold the organization’s beliefs of the greatness of the United States and the exceptionality of its Constitution.

Mark Ladao / Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi

TPUSA also boasts their project, Professor Watchlist, which aims to “expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom,” as written on their website. Users can search for professors by associated areas of key concern, including but not limited to: Feminism, LGBTQ, and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Currently three UH faculty are deemed “radical” per their criteria and listed on their website.

There are however widespread concerns that TPUSA’s values do not align with local and Hawaiian cultural values. On September 29, Kekoa Kealoha — Native Hawaiian UH Alumnus and Candidate for District 30’s Hawaii State Representative — took to Instagram to voice his concerns about the chapter’s values, association with Kirk, and use of Hawaiian language online.

Accumulating over 50,000 views, the video’s caption bluntly states, “Hawaiian values are not consistent with the values that underlie Turning Point USA.”

In an interview with Ka Leo, Kealoha further explained his reasoning and concerns, offering political commentary on what he thinks is fueling interest and why this may be problematic.

“It’s very often a co-opt of the language and the culture itself.” He explained that he sees this tokenization commonly arise when it can benefit the person or organization — whether financially or to achieve a level of clout and credibility — and highlights how use of language in this way is not pono from his perspective, or righteous in its proper place and correct context.

The UH Chapter pinned a post to their account on September 26 announcing their launch with a mission to “empower students, spark bold conversations, and stand strong for freedom on campus.” They further declared that they aim to grow a movement rooted in “truth, liberty, and aloha.”

FILE / Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi

TPUSA UH Chapter President and UHM freshman Teagan Miley described what activated the chapter here and now. “I just see a lot of hatred here on campus and hostility between peers, and it’s really sad to see.”

Miley said they hope to give people the space and platform to speak their mind with civility and kindness, being called by her faith to love and respect others. “We are so blessed and so lucky to have been born in such an amazing nation, and to honor it and uphold its values.”

The vice-president, freshman Shane Jasper also added that he appreciates TPUSA is rooted in Christianity, although it is not a requirement. “I believe the Bible tells us exactly how we should be running our world,” he explained, calling God’s word the absolute truth.

However, he cited numerous occasions of hateful language toward them at various on-campus tabling events despite remaining peaceful. “It inflates propaganda in a sort of way because when we start being aggressive, that’s all we see from the other side. And not everyone is extremely aggressive. That’s really just extremists on each side,” Jasper explained.

On Oct. 11, TPUSA partnered with various student empowerment and leadership groups, including Hawaii Young Republicans, for an event titled “We are Charlie Kirk.”

Miley explained how the group is moving forward in the aftermath. “I think just his legacy of handling everything diligently and with kindness, and you know, hearing everyone out whether you agree with them or not... really his message was just faith, family, country, and that is the three pillars I live by.”

Kealoha delved deeper into a variety of issues with their statement and mission. He pointed to the hypocrisy of liberty in the context of the US, which historically referred to freedom from the British monarchy and taxation without fair representation, and noted that the US nonetheless holds numerous territories that are taxed and lack representation in Congress.

“When they talk about ‘liberty’ [today], it’s always in the context of people being able to say whatever they want to say without the consequences or accountability to the things that they actually say,” Kealoha said. Although advocating against government overreach and oppression, he explained the need to self-regulate one’s speech and protect people from hateful language—of which political violence is commonly an unfortunate byproduct.

Kealoha added, “Very often, what people are calling ‘truth,’ at least in the realm of Charlie Kirk, is an opinion.” He emphasized the importance of using statistics in their respective contexts to form a complete picture.

He focused especially on Charlie Kirk’s controversial response to the Lahaina Wildfires, as discussed in the August 17, 2023 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show.

Targeting Kaleo Manuel, former Deputy Director of the state Commission on Water Resource Management, Kirk falsely accused him of withholding water from landowners to combat the fires, for which Gov. Josh Green issued an official apology to Manuel in 2024. In the episode, Kirk further attacked Hawaiian spirituality — particularly the belief the water is sacred — asking, “Could it be that Maui did not have to burn if they didn’t believe such wacky, goofy, pagan stuff?”

Miley denied that his statements were attacks on Hawaiian culture but rather the leadership in place during the fires, claiming it was taken out of context. “Rather than allocating the water reserve that they had to help the fire, they chose to honor it and instead let Lahaina burn when they had the opportunity to, you know, make an impact,” Miley claimed.

Kealoha argued that Manuel was undeserving of the harsh backlash, viewing Kirk’s comments as misinformed and disrespectful of Hawaiian people and culture.

“There were land developers saying that diverting water from a stream would have saved Lahaina, and that’s not true,” Kealoha explained. “The water that they were trying to divert was restricted because land developers were over consuming water in West Maui, and it was fed to a small subsection of a handful of luxury homes that might have been protected if the electricity hadn’t gone out. The rest of the town was connected to a water system that relied on pumps that were powered by electricity, and the electricity shutting off was what led to the failure in the pumps. So it didn’t have anything to do with Kaleo Manuel and releasing water.”

In light of this new TPUSA chapter, the impact of those words cut deep. “They’re using a word that is related to a culture that he was trash-talking, you know… And it was meant to trivialize the perspective that Hawaiians hold in terms of our resources.”

Though he has not seen this video of Kirk, Jasper asserted that, being from a small town in Texas, “Our organization is not built on Hawaiian values. It’s built on God’s values.”

Noting the historical distrust in government as a result of colonization, Kealoha believed that many Hawaiian voters are joining the Republican Party and may align with TPUSA not out of an affinity for their values per se, but rather because they are craving change in a historically Democrat-led state. However, he encouraged those in his community to return to their roots and analyze who actually aligns with their values, encouraging thinking beyond party lines.

Miley emphasized TPUSA is non-partisan, regardless if parties endorse them. Jasper even noted that he does not consider himself to be political at all, but believes that Kirk was trying to change the world for the better. “That’s why I’m okay with putting my values into his organization,” he said.

“It’s not really my kuleana to tell a student what they should think about going into it because that may kind of rob them of the student experience,” Kealoha emphasized. As someone with a growing platform, he admitted during the interview that he has grace for others learning as well. “The only way out is through.”

Miley admitted she is still learning the local culture, having moved on island only a few months ago. “I’m from California, so I have that view, but I also have family in Missouri, and [each has] such different ways of life that you don’t necessarily have to adjust to it if it’s not what you agree with, but you have to respect it.” Kealoha added that accountability stretches beyond respecting Hawaiian people, but all marginalized identities. “If I’m being honest I don’t believe that Turning Point is generally safe for people who are LGBTQ+ to engage [with], unless they are reinforced and ready for that kind of dialogue,” he said.

“A lot of people are coming at us saying, you know, we’re fascists, we’re white supremacists, we’re racists—all these untrue things.” Miley asserted that their chapter is welcoming, citing they have members that are part of the LGBTQ+ community. She added that Jasper has even faced shaming by people outside the organization for choosing to join as a person of color.

He said they want diversity in the “right” way, disagreeing with affirmative action and preferences based on identity. “If I were to get a job just because I’m Black, that’s unfair. That’s just them meeting their quota,” Jasper explained. “Our organization is for everyone because our organization is for God’s people, and God’s people is everyone.”

Kealoha recommended that campus organizations that are truly desiring to exchange ideas must be willing to practice aloha, engage meaningfully, place ground rules, and be held accountable for their words. “I’m hopeful and want to have faith, but it’s gotta be on them to reach out.”

Miley said she hopes to foster that in the community here, claiming that their chapter’s use of the word aloha emphasises the welcoming energy and life of their group of students.

Kealoa asserted, “As Hawaiians we are very aware of how our speech can impact others.” At the end of the interview, he invoked a Hawaiian proverb to describe this sentiment and reminder to the UH TPUSA Chapter and all organizations at a Hawaiian place of learning.

“‘I ka ʻōlelo nō ke ola, i ka ʻōlelo nō ka make.’ In speech there is life, and in speech there is death,” Kealoha said.