These past couple of months have been busy for Turning Point USA. Ever since Charlie Kirk’s death, there has been an uproar of chapters starting all across America, like our very own here at Lewis Cass.
Lewis Cass has a new club called Club America, which is an extension of Turning Point USA. Turning Point is a non-profit organization founded by Charlie Kirk that advocates for Conservative beliefs on school campuses. While this is the simple way to explain Turning Point, it is much more than that. I asked the Indiana high school representative for Turning Point USA, Kyle Mattern, what Turning Point means to him. “Turning Point to me is about community. It’s about being in a place surrounded by people who want to see you become the best version of yourself.” After my interview with Mattern, I felt much better about starting our chapter here at Cass. Anyone is welcome to come to meetings. You do not have to be conservative to join. We want this group to be a safe space for everyone to share their opinions and beliefs. Mattern continued, “We don’t all agree with each other on every single point, so it’s great being able to talk through what we believe with others who, at the end of the day, whether we agree or not, are still our friends. Turning Point is, at its core, a family.”
As a young open Christian conservative, I felt led to start a Turning Point Chapter at Lewis Cass. In order to start the chapter, I had to talk to several people. I also had to prepare myself for the criticism. First, I went to find an advisor for the meetings. An advisor allows the group to use their classroom for the meetings. I went to Mr. Temme, who is a math teacher here at Cass, to ask if he would be our advisor. Mr. Temme was very willing to be our advisor. When asked why he chose to be our advisor for the meetings, Mr. Temme said, “Students taking leadership in their community should be supported. I feel that providing a space for this opportunity will allow students to grow their leadership skills”. I have so much respect for Mr. Temme, and I was ecstatic when he said that he would be our advisor. After some pushback and quite a bit of discussion with our principal and superintendent, we were ready to start planning. My officers and I spent time discussing what we wanted our chapter to look like and what our policies were going to be. Once we had everything ready, I started to think to myself, “Why is it important for us to get involved in politics?”
I believe that it is important to get involved in politics at a young age so that you can build up your beliefs and have your own opinions. Our nation’s future is on the back of my generation and the generations after. It is so important to know your beliefs so that you can fight for them. When asked if he thinks that students should get more involved in politics and if so, why, Mattern replied, “Some of the most important people in our nation’s history and the history of the world were teenagers and people in their early twenties. They understood that to get to the place they wanted to be, they needed to invest in themselves and the community early on. Because, like any investment, you see the biggest returns when you invest early.” While talking about his answer, Mattern brought up our fifth president, James Monroe, who was just eighteen when he got involved in politics. This is important because it shows that some of the most important people in our nation’s history started off at a young age. It is also important to speak up for yourself at a young age because you have to learn how to deal with criticism.
With everything being said, we held our first meeting on November 6, 2025, and I am proud to say that it was a great first meeting. If you are torn on politics, I strongly recommend coming to our Turning Point USA meetings to learn more. The meetings are held in Mr. Temme’s room at 7 A.M. on Thursdays. Join us for donuts and presentations on important issues. We can not wait to see you there!
