5 of the Most Controversial Clubs on College Campuses
One of the many ways to broaden the scope of your learning in college is to get involved in the plethora of clubs that can be found on any campus. However, some of these clubs might not offer the experience you’re looking for. Here is a list of some of the most controversial clubs in recent years.
Young Conservatives of Texas - University of Texas
In October 2016, a group of students from the University of Texas decided to hold a bake sale representative of the differences in aid available to people of different genders and races, with prices dropping drastically the more "diverse" you were considered. This bake sale was nearly an exact replica of a similar one held by Berkeley College Republicans back in 2011. While some people were able to see some sense in what the students were attempting to convey, many took great offense, stating that the bake sale was incredibly racist.
The White Student Union - Towson University
While this club was never officially founded, it is well worth mentioning. In September 2012, Matthew Heimach proposed a white-washed version of the black student union as a "safe place" for white students who felt they were discriminated against because of their race. While it was argued that the group had a right to exist under first amendment laws, it was met with extreme push back as many felt that the idea of a white student union was ridiculous since white US citizens had never experienced being denied education or other rights because of their race.
NYU College Republicans - NYU
This is another example of a conservative attempt at creating dialogue gone wrong. NYU College Republicans decided to put on a game where one person walked around campus with a name tag that read "illegal immigrant" the person to find them was awarded a gift certificate. It was stated that the purpose of the game was to bring awareness to illegal immigration, but, as you can imagine, it sparked an enormous protest and was quickly ended.
Psalm 100 - University of North Carolina
Psalm 100 is a Christian a capella group that found themselves awash in controversy after they voted to remove member Will Thomason from their group. Thomason was openly gay and believed that his sexuality didn't conflict with his faith; however, the other members disagreed, and defended their decision even after it was brought to the public's attention.
American Freedom Party - University of Wisconsin
The American Freedom Party is already well-known for its ties to white supremacy groups, but a few years ago it fell a little further down the rabbit hole when Daniel Dropik attempted to start his own chapter at the University of Wisconsin. After handing out flyers stating that the group would fight "anti-white racism on campus," it was discovered by several students that Dropik had recently been in prison for burning down two black churches in what was determined to be a racially motivated attack.
Not every club on a college campus is out to help you make great strides in your education and future, so let's all remember to do our homework before we join a club that just might get our names in the news in a way we'd rather not have them!