Jasmine Ivan's Mission to Bring Turning Point USA Back to UC Irvine After Charlie Kirk's Death
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Jasmine Ivan's Mission to Bring Turning Point USA Back to UC Irvine After Charlie Kirk's Death
Jasmine Ivan, a rising sophomore at UC Irvine, shares her journey of faith and determination to restart a Turning Point USA chapter on her campus. After learning about Charlie Kirk's assassination while walking out of a final exam, Jasmine felt called to action. She discovered that TPUSA had been effectively banned from UCI after members were expelled for holding events during COVID-19, facing arbitrary campus policies that prevented conservative organizing. Despite institutional resistance and concerns about being blacklisted, Jasmine is working to find faculty advisers and like-minded students to bring the chapter back, motivated by Kirk's encouragement to be vocal about faith and conservative values.
Jasmine Ivan never expected that walking out of a final exam would change the trajectory of her college experience. As she left the testing room, she overheard two girls cheering about Charlie Kirk's assassination. The moment devastated her. She found a quiet spot, sat down, and prayed, asking God why this had happened and what it meant.
"I listen to Charlie Kirk regularly and I just loved how he was very vocal about his faith and he encouraged me to be vocal about my faith," Jasmine explained. Kirk's boldness in sharing his Christian beliefs had inspired her own spiritual journey and evangelism efforts with her sister.
The answer to her prayer came when she heard Erika Kirk speak about starting Turning Point USA chapters on campuses that didn't have them. For Jasmine, it was a clear confirmation. She needed to bring TPUSA back to UC Irvine.
The History of TPUSA at UC Irvine
As Jasmine began researching how to start a chapter, she discovered a troubling history. Turning Point USA had previously existed at UCI but had been effectively shut down under controversial circumstances.
"I was actually around during when TPUSA actually got banned off of the campus," explained Anthony, a contact who had been involved with the previous chapter. During the COVID-19 pandemic, TPUSA members held an event on campus. According to Anthony, what happened next was "actually illegal, like straight up illegal with like jail penalties and tickets." Half of the members were expelled from campus for participating in the event.
The situation worsened from there. "A lot of them got in trouble because the school had created arbitrary like laws and policies that prevented conservatives from organizing on campus," Anthony said. "Mind you, a campus they're paying to attend to and some of them live at, including myself, live there."
Members faced administrative punishment through the student government, some were expelled, and the club was eventually shut down and blacklisted by the university. Anthony characterized this as part of a larger pattern: "Schools are trying to institutionally lock out conservatives from being able to congregate and organize."
The Cost of Conservative Activism
Starting a TPUSA chapter at UCI wouldn't just be administratively challenging—it could come with serious social consequences. Anthony outlined the personal risks students faced when joining conservative organizations on campus.
"This was a mass issue because you'd have just a landslide of harassment from your leftist colleagues," he explained. "You'd get essentially blacklisted from joining other clubs. You know, say maybe you want to join a woodworking club or you want to join a video game club or something that has nothing to do with politics. But once they see you're on that list as a TPUSA affiliate, a YAF affiliate or a College Republican, you're immediately your name is mud in the school."
The registration process itself required public identification. Students would need to find an adviser willing to take responsibility, a leader to step up, and board members willing to have their names in the school database—all knowing they could face harassment and exclusion as a result.
Opposition From Faculty
The institutional resistance extended beyond student dynamics. One faculty member Jasmine would potentially encounter expressed strong opposition to Charlie Kirk and his organization.
"I can't say that there was much of a presence at UCI of Charlie Kirk's organization," the faculty member stated. "I can say it's a little perplexing to me to hear that conservative students feel that it's a hostile campus."
The faculty member then characterized Kirk's message in harsh terms: "The only rhetoric I've seen has to do with a rhetoric of exclusion, not of inclusion, of attempting to have professors dismissed for their views of attempting to silence students who are critical of Charlie Kirk's frankly racist and anti-LGBTQ plus rhetoric."
This perspective highlighted the uphill battle Jasmine would face. Finding a faculty adviser willing to support a TPUSA chapter would be critical—and potentially the biggest obstacle to getting the organization registered.
Faith as Foundation
Throughout her journey, Jasmine's motivation remained rooted in her Christian faith. She and her sister had been street evangelizing together, inspired by Kirk's example of being publicly vocal about belief in Jesus.
In one evangelism encounter captured on video, Jasmine spoke passionately to another young woman: "It's only by the blood of Jesus. He loves you. If this has touched your heart, I encourage you to go and seek it for yourself. Don't take it by my word."
She continued with urgency about spiritual freedom: "He wants to lift you out of depression. He wants to lift you out of anxiety. It's not something to go through that it's not normal. That's what the devil wants to convince you of. Jesus wants to free you from sin. I am free because of the blood of Jesus."
After sharing the gospel, Jasmine prayed for the young woman: "Thank you for this meeting that you ordered, Lord. And I thank you for that they're your daughters, Lord. May they be the light and dark places, Lord. Thank you for Jasmine Ivan. In Jesus name I pray. Amen."
This same conviction motivated her TPUSA efforts. Kirk's assassination had affected her deeply not just politically but spiritually. "He was a brother in Christ. And I think a lot of people in the church and across the nation felt that and across the world," she reflected.
Taking Action
As a rising sophomore, Jasmine began the practical work of bringing TPUSA back to UCI. She connected with Anthony to understand the registration process and the challenges she would face.
Anthony emphasized the need for conservatives in professional positions: "We need judges, we need lawyers, we need doctors, we need conservatives to fight back and like push against all this stuff. We need people in positions of authority." He acknowledged that universities are "Marxist strongholds at the end of the day" and stressed the importance of "at least strong conservative judges in these spaces or at least people with common sense."
He also noted a potential shift in institutional attitude: "Especially with the recent tragedy of the loss of Charlie Kirk, clearly no school wants to be on the wrong side of history now. Everybody clearly wants to be in the right frame of mind or everybody wants to be in the right space. But universities are obviously going to cover their tracks."
Jasmine remained optimistic despite the obstacles. "So, I'm currently headed to speak with leaders of campus organization and volunteer programs here at UCI to get Turning Point USA on my campus before the beginning of this academic year," she said.
Separating Rumor From Reality
As Jasmine investigated further, she began to question whether TPUSA was formally banned or if institutional barriers had simply made it impossible to function.
"I do need a professor or a staff member to help me even get TPUSA on campus because I doubt if they're Democrat they're going to want to be an administrator," she reasoned. "So that's what I'm guessing has prevented TPUSA to start is having a professor to support your TPUSA chapter."
She considered the possibility that the "ban" was more social than official: "It may just be a rumor that Turning Point USA is not really banned. It was just a rumor. Maybe it was just something to put a scare on students who want to start a conservative movement on campus."
Regardless of whether the obstacles were formal policies or informal pressure, the effect had been the same—TPUSA had been absent from UCI.
A Mission to Educate
Jasmine saw her effort not just as restarting a political organization but as an educational mission to correct misperceptions about what Charlie Kirk stood for.
"I definitely want to take this chance to educate them on really what Charlie was for. And it was nothing against color, race, who you identified as," she said, directly challenging the characterizations she knew existed on campus.
She believed that speaking up in the current moment could actually find receptive hearts: "I definitely see people having maybe a positive view on this too, especially what's going on in our world and just saying, 'Wow, that takes a lot of courage and boldness in your beliefs.'"
With other students expressing interest in joining the chapter, Jasmine moved forward with determination. "I've spoken with other students who are excited to bring this chapter on Turning Point USA and I know a lot of students will come together and continue what the movement was all about," she said.
As she prepared to meet with campus leaders, she asked for prayer: "So wish me luck."
For Jasmine Ivan, bringing TPUSA back to UC Irvine wasn't just about politics—it was about honoring the legacy of someone who had encouraged her faith, standing up for free speech and conservative organizing on campus, and having the courage to be vocal about her beliefs even when it wasn't easy or popular.
