Members of the University of Memphis’ Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter spoke out Friday against their school’s intentions to use classrooms as pulpits that promote the tenets of social justice.
Three University of Memphis TPUSA students declared their intentions as they appeared on a TPUSA Live video.
“There are a lot of issues on campus that need to be addressed. As for our rankings, in general, we are ranked the eighth university in Tennessee. There are 10 or 12 universities [in the state]. There is a lot of room that needs to be made to improve our education and our safety,” TPUSA Student Chapter President Anne-Elizabeth said in the video.
“There are some bathrooms and some dorm rooms that are running bad water or have mold in them. There are a lot of areas that need to be addressed instead of taking and watering down our education and pushing false narratives to fit a politically and socially woke agenda.”
TPUSA, according to its website, identifies, educates, trains, and organizes college students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.
TPUSA’s University of Memphis chapter members said in the video that they are seeking new members. They also said that they want other students to think for themselves and to think critically.
University of Memphis officials have offered a $3,000 stipend to professors to redesign existing courses to promote the tenets of social justice. This, as part of the university’s Eradicating Systemic Racism and Promoting Social Justice Initiative.
The program, the school’s website went on to say, is scheduled to launch at the start of the Spring 2022 semester.
University officials will select 15 to 20 faculty members to participate. Faculty will present strategies to redesign their courses.
A grant offers a $3,000 stipend, awarded in two installments. The grant is available to full-time instructors and lecturers as well as tenure track and tenured faculty members, according to the school’s website.
The University of Memphis’ website went on to say that the school might need new courses, new majors and minors, and new concentrations “to increase enrollment of and fully engage students of color, especially men of color.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) this week criticized the school for this new initiative.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “University of Memphis Students” by TPUSA Live.
