LTHS Again Rejects Conservative Group

LA GRANGE, IL — Lyons Township High School has again turned down a conservative organization's request to become an official club.

Last week, Turning Point USA announced that its latest bid for a chapter at the school was unsuccessful.

"Despite the legal facts, they continue to believe Turning Point USA is a partisan organization," the local group said on its Facebook page.

Senior Leslie Mendoza, who has spearheaded the effort for Turning Point, denounced the school's decision.

"Lyons Township High School won’t approve a Turning Point USA chapter that teaches true American values as an official school club but will allow teachers to participate in a (Black Lives Matter) book study so that they can 'help students make sense of this new reality'? Lol ok, LT," Mendoza wrote on Facebook.

A school spokeswoman could not be reached for immediate comment. Patch has filed a public records request for more information on the issue.

Turning Point is a national organization that is considered a nonprofit under federal tax rules. To keep that status, it cannot be partisan. Its website said it has chapters on more than 2,500 campuses throughout the country.

Like its parent organization, the local Turning Point group makes no bones about its conservative views. These days, many of the local chapter's posts on Facebook are about its opposition to vaccine mandates and its dislike of Anthony Fauci.

Last October, the group wished everyone "a very Happy Columbus Day." The post included a meme that stated, "Christopher Columbus — the only immigrant that leftists hate."

Last June, the school first rejected Turning Point's bid to gain official status. Mendoza contends Turning Point focuses on teaching students about the benefits of the free market, limited government, the principles of freedom and American values in general.