William & Mary students launch Turning Point USA chapter amid peer backlash
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Students at the College of William & Mary, the second-oldest university in the United States, are launching a Turning Point chapter in the U.S. despite backlash on social media and backlash from their peers.
Olivia Keller, a sophomore at William and Mary, said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the school administration was supportive, but her peers were not.
Most of the resistance has been on the social media app YikYak because students find it more comfortable to attack the club behind a screen rather than face to face.
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Grace Keller, second from right, with William and Mary TPUSA members. (Photo courtesy: Kevin Lincoln)
“There has been a lot of discussion among students on this platform,” Keller said. “So they were pretty opposed to our efforts with this new club. They made comments about the directors of the club, they made fun of Charlie Kirk being assassinated. They were like, ‘Oh, we haven’t heard a racist comment in a long time, that’s great’. So there’s some really inappropriate stuff there. But I’ve never personally had an interaction as bad as online, so whether it’s face-to-face or online, so they’re definitely more afraid to say things in person.”
The 20-year-old student told Fox News Digital that she reached out to campus security after learning that other students were planning to protest the group’s action. October 20 information meeting.
“When this came to my attention, I had never dealt with a protest before. I wasn’t sure how big it would be, how many people would attend, or how disruptive it would be,” Keller said. “So I felt the need to provide security outside of our meeting. It was also really easy to communicate with faculty and staff to get the security guards out.”
Marketing expert Keller said that after he posted about Kirk’s assassination, he noticed a significant decrease in the number of his friends following him on social media platforms such as Instagram.
The 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA was assassinated Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University during his “American Comeback Tour.”
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A participant holds a sign that reads “Never Surrender” before a memorial service for political activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Keller claimed that nearly 200 of Kirk’s friends unfollowed him on Instagram after he posted a “rest in peace” message after the assassination, and more unfollowed him when he shared a post for Veterans Day on Monday.
Keller said he thinks conservative students face a more challenging environment on campus than their liberal peers.
“Even college Republicans face a lot of backlash and are very vocal about their beliefs,” Keller said. “When Trump got elected last year, they were wearing MAGA hats and stuff, and so there was a lot of commentary about them, like there was a lot of disagreement.”
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Charlie Kirk speaks before he is assassinated during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Desert News via AP)
Keller said he was a “secret conservative” but decided to speak out despite the risks.
“Personally, I was more of a closeted conservative on campus until this year because I felt like if I spoke out I would be attacked or basically condemned,” Keller said.
His advice to students who find themselves in a similar situation and want to start a conservative club at a left-leaning institution is to “be brave.”
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Keller’s advice to students who find themselves in a similar situation and want to start a conservative club at a left-leaning institution is to “be brave.” (Godofredo Vásquez/AP)
“I think it’s really important in today’s world to be bold about those beliefs,” Keller said. “Even if your peers disagree with you, in the long run you will find your own community with people who have similar values, and those will be more important relationships.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the College of William & Mary for comment.
