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students in the College of William and Marythe second oldest university in the United States, are launching a US Turning Point chapter despite the reaction of social networks and the rejection of his peers.
Olivia Keller, a sophomore at William and Mary, told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday that the school’s administration has been supportive, but her classmates have not.
Most of the resistance has come on the social media app YikYak, because it believes students feel more comfortable attacking the club from behind a screen than face to face.
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Grace Keller, second from right, with members of William and Mary TPUSA. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Lincoln)
“There has been a lot of discussion about that platform among students,” Keller said. “So they’ve been pretty opposed to our efforts with this new club. They made comments about the executive members of the club, they made fun of when Charlie Kirk was murdered. They were like, ‘Oh, we haven’t heard a racist comment in a long time, that’s amazing.’ So there’s some really inappropriate stuff there. But in person I really haven’t had any kind of interaction that was as bad as online, meaning face-to-face versus online, so they’re definitely more afraid to say something in person.”
The 20-year-old student told Fox News Digital that she contacted campus security after learning that other students were planning to protest the group. Information meeting on October 20..
“When this was brought to my attention, I had never dealt with a protest before. I wasn’t sure how big it was going to be, how many people would actually show up or how disruptive it would be,” Keller said. “So I felt the need to have security outside of our meeting. And it was very easy to communicate with the faculty and staff to get those security guards out.”
Keller, who specializes in marketing, said she has noticed a drastic decrease in the number of friends who follow her on social media platforms like Instagram after posting about Kirk’s murder.
The 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA was killed on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University during his “American Comeback Tour.”
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An attendee holds a sign that reads “Never Give Up” before the memorial service for political activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium on September 21, 2025, in Glendale, Arizona. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Keller claims that about 200 friends on Instagram unfollowed her after she posted a “rest in peace” tribute to Kirk following his murder, and that more unfollowed her on Monday when she shared a post for Veterans Day.
Keller said he thinks conservative students They tend to face a harsher environment on campus compared to their liberal peers.
“Even the College Republicans“They face a lot of backlash and are pretty vocal about their beliefs,” Keller said. “When Trump was elected the year before, they were wearing MAGA hats and stuff, so there was a lot of commentary on them, like there was a lot of disagreement.”
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Charlie Kirk speaks before being killed during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
Keller said it had been a “closeted conservative“but he decided to speak out despite the risks.
“I personally have been more than what I would say, a closeted man conservative on campus until this year, just because I feel like if I were to speak out, I would just 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-wing institution is to be “bold.”
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Keller’s advice to students in a similar situation who want to start a conservative club at a left-wing institution is to be “bold.” (Godofredo Vásquez/AP)
“In today’s world, I think it’s very important to be bold about these beliefs,” Keller said. “And even if your peers don’t agree with you, in the long run you will find your own community with people who have similar values and those will be the most important relationships.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the College of William & Mary for comment.
