Rutgers pushes TPUSA chapter to hold elections to replace officers

Rutgers University administration is doubling down on pressure from the school’s Turning Point USA chapter to hold elections to replace officials who spoke out against pro-Antifa professor Mark Bray, according to emails obtained by Fox News Digital.

In an email Thursday, Neela Patel, executive director of student centers and activities at Rutgers, directed the TPUSA chapter to hold an election to replace treasurer Megyn Doyle, the student who started the petition to oust Bray, and the recently resigned vice president.

“I am following up on the following email I sent on October 17, 2025 regarding the Turning Point USA-Rutgers police pursuit,” Patel wrote. “As of today, I have not received a response to discuss necessary next steps. Therefore, I request that the organization continue to hold elections to fill the Vice President and Treasurer positions, in accordance with University policies and the organization’s bylaws.”

Elections must be completed by November 19 and all candidates must meet certain eligibility requirements, Patel added.

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“When conducting selections, please ensure that the following University requirements for student organization officers are met,” Patel added. “Officers must be full-time undergraduate students at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. Officers must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 at Rutgers University. First-semester students are not eligible to hold officer positions.”

The email followed earlier correspondence obtained by Fox News Digital from Karima Woodyard, Rutgers’ director of student engagement and leadership, who told the TPUSA chapter that both Doyle and Ava Kwan, the chapter’s outreach coordinator, should be removed from their positions.

Woodyard argued that neither student was qualified to serve in executive roles because Doyle was enrolled at the Rutgers Newark campus and Kwan was a graduate student.

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Mark Bray, an assistant professor in the Rutgers history department, waits in a hotel room in Newark, N.J., before a scheduled flight to Spain on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (Ted Shaffrey/AP Photo)

Woodyard argued that since the TPUSA chapter “is classified as an undergraduate student organization for the New Brunswick campus, neither individual is eligible to hold board positions within your group.”

Earlier this month, members of Rutgers’ Turning Point USA chapter launched a petition, led by Doyle, to remove assistant professor Bray, citing concerns about his past statements supporting Antifa.

Bray, who recently moved abroad for “security reasons” and said his personal information was disclosed and “received multiple death threats,” has expressed strong support for “antifascism” in previous online posts. He teaches his classes remotely from Spain.

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He is the author of “Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook,” which explicitly calls for “militant anti-fascism.” The book states that “at least 50 percent of the authors’ proceeds will go to the International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund, which is run by more than three hundred antifa members from eighteen countries.”

The International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund says on its website that it has “donated over $250,000 to more than 800 anti-fascists in 26 different countries.”

Doyle, a Rutgers student and Turning Point USA chapter treasurer, said in a statement to Fox News Digital: “Woodyard’s decision to step down as TPUSA’s academic year advisor is a way for him to avoid responsibility. Ava and I have been in these positions since the beginning of the school year, so we are trying to find answers as to why our student situations are now being impacted.”

“We have reason to believe that Rutgers chose to implement its policy at will based on the timing of the entire situation,” he added.

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The International Anti-Fascist Defense Fund says on its website that it has “donated over $250,000 to more than 800 anti-fascists in 26 different countries.” (Reuters)

In an email to Patel obtained by Fox News Digital, Kwan wrote: “Given the timing of this investigation, this appears to be a deliberate weaponization of procedure due to Megyn and I’s public opposition to a self-proclaimed Antifa organization working at our public university with NJ taxpayer money.”

He added: “Given these circumstances, we demand transparency as to who ordered this investigation into our department and an answer as to why it was initiated. At no point throughout the process of joining the student organization were we made aware of any issues.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital last week, Rutgers said: “Turning Point USA is a recognized student organization on Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus. Like all student organizations, it is expected to operate in accordance with our stated policies and procedures.”

“The university found that two individuals who publicly identified themselves as officers of the TPUSA unit were not properly registered as officers in accordance with university procedures. Additionally, these individuals do not meet the eligibility requirements for officer positions in an undergraduate student organization in New Brunswick.

“The university is reviewing this internally and is working with the department to address the compliance issue and ensure the institution’s continued operations on campus, consistent with our approach to all student organizations.”

In an email response from Patel to Kwan obtained by Fox News Digital on Friday, Patel said there was no investigation into the Rutgers TPUSA chapter and that the university reached out when it learned Doyle and Kwan did not meet eligibility requirements.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Rutgers for additional comment.