Turning Point USA held a shoot-out hockey competition on March 4 that sparked complaints from students in the University of Rhode Island’s Young Democratic Socialists of America Club.
The event invited students to compete in a men versus women shoot-out hockey competition and talk to some members of the club to learn more about their conservative political advocacy since they have not been officially recognized as a club yet by the student senate. The organization was also using the event to advocate for biological women only competing in women’s sports.
The YDSA is a club that advocates for social change, and is a youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America. Members of the YDSA said they found this event to be transphobic.
“This is promoting transphobia,” said Julien Turner, the treasurer of the YDSA. “This is them trying to prove some kind of point that biological women are weaker than biological men so we shouldn’t let trans-women play in women’s sports.”
In response to these comments, Anthony Coppola, the president of Turning Point USA, said that the event was 100% pro-women, and the goal was to protect women in women’s sports.
“We are pro-women and pro-women’s sports,” Coppola said.
The group aimed to highlight the biological difference between men and women, according to Coppola. Additionally, they wanted to explain why it is unfair to women to have opportunities taken away from them because transgender athletes are competing against them, according to Coppola.
At the event, members of the YDSA approached the table to talk to the students operating the event. Both parties said that the other was not open to having a constructive conversation and were looking to argue.
Coppola said that Turning Point USA spreads awareness and that they are fully open to conversation with anyone, which is what the club promotes. However, following the event Turner said that Turning Point USA should be disbanded as an organization.
“They always say this is their attempt at starting an open conversation but it’s very clear that their conversations are tilted to begin with,” Turner said.
Events like the one Turning Point USA held have many benefits as well as drawbacks. The event was meant to help protect biological women in women’s sports and invite students to have a conversation about the issue, Coppola said.
However, Turner believed that these events have the potential to erase transgender athletes and are an attack on trans-women who compete in women’s sports.
Since the event, Coppola said he has been receiving hateful comments on Turning Point USA’s Instagram posts and he has been removed from the Musician’s Guild, which he was a member of for the past three years. He said he would be open to having a conversation with members of the YDSA.
Both of these organizations are affiliated with political ideologies: Turning Point USA is a national organization that promotes conservative politics on high school and university campuses. While not officially a club at the University of Rhode Island, Coppola feels confident that it will be approved to become a club by the student senate.
The YDSA is also a national organization that advocates for the needs of workers and students in America. The URI chapter is involved with community action and provides information and training about drug safety, Turner said.
If you are interested in learning more about either of these organizations to learn more about what they do, visit their websites: y.dsausa.org and tpusa.com .