HCC response to student club request
In late summer, Hagerstown Community College (HCC) student Moriah DeMartino approached online and local media outlets to complain that the college unfairly denied her request to start a Turning Point USA chapter on the HCC campus.
Here are the facts associated with these developments:
HCC has a long history of supporting a wide range of students clubs and interests. The administration strongly supports opportunities for students to share their ideas and beliefs and participate in activities that encourage diverse philosophies, ideals, and interests.
HCC’s Student Club Guide states that… “The first step to create a new club on campus is to research existing clubs to be sure the mission and purpose are not duplicated."
DeMartino was told that her request for the club would be denied because its mission and purpose are included in the mission and purpose of the existing Political Science Club, and therefore, would be considered a duplicate club.
Approved clubs receive financial support from HCC to support club activities, and limited funding of clubs is one of the factors that is considered in the disapproval of clubs whose missions can be viewed as duplicate.
DeMartino never submitted a formal club application, which requires an HCC faculty or staff member to agree to serve as the club advisor and at least three members who are current HCC students.
HCC’s Political Science Club is open to all HCC students and its purpose is to further educate and expose its members to principles of political science in a true objective manner with respect to all student rights. The objectives of the club are quite broad and include non-partisan, but inclusive, political engagement, political learning, and political instruction.
Despite DeMartino’s claims, HCC’s Political Science Club has been and continues to be an active club, representing a range of political ideologies. During the 2014-2015 academic year, the Political Science Club organized forums with Republican and Democratic candidates, participated in meetings with elected officials representing Republican and Democratic parties, conducted voter registration drives on the HCC campus, and met with officials from the National Security Administration and the U.S. Department of State.
Questions have been raised about possible duplication that may exist between HCC’s Spectrum Club and HCC’s NOW Club. The Administration of HCC feels very strongly that these clubs serve distinctively different audiences and have very different purposes. The purpose of the Spectrum Club is to increase campus awareness of issues people face who are of a gender or romantic minority, including, but not limited to, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and asexual persons; provide a support group for students who identify as gender or romantic minority; and provide leadership and peer support opportunities to those within the club. The purpose of the NOW Club is to focus on education and actions to promote equality between men and women. The key areas of focus for the HCC NOW Club include, but are not limited to, reproductive health, violence against women, constitutional equality, promoting diversity/ending racism, lesbian rights, and economic justice.
HCC’s Political Science Club advisor met with DeMartino in August and welcomed her to join the club, telling her that he encourages the sharing of information related to a broad range of political views and the healthy debate on all sides of any issue.
On September 2, DeMartino and two people representing Turning Point USA (not HCC students) were soliciting for signatures to petition the denial of the club request. They were asked to discontinue their activity because they had not sought approval to do so and, thus, were in violation of HCC’s Solicitation Policy. The list of alleged signatures has not been presented to anyone at HCC.
DeMartino has been told she is welcome to share information and political ideology from Turning Point USA on the HCC campus, as a member of HCC's Political Science Club, during Political Science Cub events, and to participate in campus open forums where various viewpoints can be shared.
DeMartino has participated in HCC’s Political Science Club, having volunteered at a club table during New Student Orientation in August, to recruit new members for the club. She also attended a debate watching party hosted by the Political Science Club on October 13.
HCC's Political Science Club is hosting a Republican Debate Viewing Party on October 28.
A student open forum on the Constitution and Bill of Rights is planned for November 12, sponsored by the Political Science Club and the Office of the Dean of Students. Students are encouraged to express their opinions on any and all political viewpoints they support and DeMartino has been invited to attend and represent the viewpoints of Turning Point USA.