Pepperdine’s Turning Point USA chapter displays controversial Valentine’s Day grams at Mullin Town Square on Feb. 12. TPUSA chapter president Sophia Markle said the grams were sent by the national TPUSA organization for their tabling event. Photo courtesy of Andersen Barger
Pepperdine’s chapter of Turning Point USA tabled on Mullin Town Square on Feb. 12. Chapter members handed out free roses and Valentine’s Day grams to celebrate the upcoming holiday. By the afternoon, the event became the center of controversy across campus. Some grams included deportation-themed messages such as “I Wouldn’t Deport You” and “I’d Let You Cross the Border of My Heart.”
Junior Sophia Markle, Turning Point USA chapter president, said the goal of the event was to “spread joy and love.” The chapter’s theme for the week, “I love America,” included handing out roses with Bible verses, inviting students to write why they love America and offering prayer over them.
Among the critics was Pepperdine College Democrats, which issued a public statement on its Instagram condemning the mistreatment of minority and immigrant groups in the form of these Valentine’s Day grams.
“In light of imagery that has been circulating around Pepperdine University’s campus today, Pepperdine College Democrats feel called to condemn the mistreatment of minority and especially immigrant groups as a punchline for Valentine’s Day jokes,” the chapter wrote.
The Valentine’s Day controversy brought attention to Pepperdine’s TPUSA chapter, a conservative student organization that aims to educate students about the importance of freedom, free markets and limited government, according to their Instagram.
Founded in 2021, Pepperdine’s TPUSA chapter has developed a visible presence on campus.
Last September, they organized a candlelight vigil in memory of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the national TPUSA co-founder who was assassinated during an event at Utah Valley University, according to the Associated Press. Hundreds of students, faculty and administrators attended the vigil, according to previous Graphic reporting.
Since then, Markle said the Pepperdine chapter has increased in membership.
“We did see a lot more people show up and feel like they wanted to speak and share their beliefs, where a lot of people were scared before,” Markle said. “Charlie really inspired people to show up and be bold about what they believe, but in a kind and civil way.”
To become an official member, students have to register with the national TPUSA organization and Peppervine.
This semester, Markle became president of Pepperdine’ TPUSA chapter, succeeding former president Bethany Kronlund, who graduated last fall. Markle said she previously served as the chapter’s vice president of social media and marketing.
Markle’s involvement with TPUSA also stretches off campus. She said she attended multiple national TPUSA events such as Charlie Kirk’s memorial service and AmericaFest 2025, an annual convention featuring dozens of the most prominent conservative politicians and media figures.
Markle said these events were “deeply patriotic.”
“It was just a lot of people that really loved their country, cared about every single person around them,” Markle said. “Everyone was really supportive of every single person around them, kind, open-minded and just a lot of love for America.”
Pepperdine’s TPUSA chapter held their third chapter meeting of the semester in BPC 190 on Feb. 12, hours after their tabling. The event began with a debate exercise that challenged students to choose between four values: freedom, security, equality and opportunity. As each question was asked, members walked to the corner of the classroom that matched their answer and defended why their value mattered most.
Over several rounds, students debated which value best represented America, what they loved most about the country and what value America still lacked. By the end of the exercise, nearly 20 students chose “freedom” for all three questions. Five members picked “opportunity,” one selected “equality” and another chose “security.”
Junior Sophia Markle, president of the TPUSA chapter, presents the work application for the week at the Feb. 12 chapter meeting in BPC 190. The applications are meant to challenge members to go out and find ways to strengthen their local community. Photo by Oliver Evans
Markle then welcomed members and gave a brief introduction about the club.
“We’re pro-America, pro-Constitution and we’re for free speech for everyone and love for everyone, really letting those faith and Christian values show through,” Markle said. “We want everyone to be able to have a voice — not just conservatives, not just liberals. We want everyone to be there and love each other and have good, civil conversations and discourse.”
Pepperdine’s Turning Point chapter consists of two sections: Turning Point USA, the main student organization that focuses on free speech and dialogue, and Turning Point Faith, a branch dedicated to Bible study and prayer.
Markle said the chapter is not part of Turning Point Action, a subset of TPUSA that engages in grassroots activism and provides voters with resources to elect conservative leaders, according to Turning Point Action’s website.
“We, as a club on campus, don’t support any political movement or agenda,” Markle said. “We have Turning Point Faith on campus, which is obviously just faith — we read the Bible together, we dissect the Bible — nothing political in that.”
Two anonymous Pepperdine community members call out the TPUSA chapter’s tabling event in posts on Fizz. Their posts were two out of at least 20 critical of the event that received over 1,000 upvotes on the platform. Screenshots by Marcos Lizarraga
After introductions, the chapter turned their attention to the backlash surrounding their Valentine’s Day grams. Images of the deportation-themed grams were circulating on Pepperdine’s Fizz, a campus-based anonymous social media app. Dozens of community members posts calling the cards “racist” and “insensitive,” have garnered more than 1,000 upvotes.
Within hours, Pepperdine College Democrats issued a public statement.
Pepperdine College Democrats released a public statement on their Instagram, condemning the Valentine’s Day grams at 12:39 p.m. Feb. 12. Since then, the post has amassed nearly 700 likes and 280 shares. Photo courtesy of Pepperdine College Democrats
In a Feb. 16 text message to the Graphic, Anniah Smith, president of Pepperdine College Democrats and Graphic Perspectives staff writer, wrote the club felt compelled to speak out because of the community’s reaction to the nature of the imagery displayed.
“Pepperdine College Democrats felt called to respond to the inflammatory imagery displayed at TPUSA’s table because of an outcry of objections by the Pepperdine community against the materials promoted at TPUSA’s Valentine’s Day tabling,” Smith wrote. “TPUSA’s imagery was appalling and not something that College Democrats felt was in line with our University or community standards.”
GroupMe messages obtained by the Graphic show members of Pepperdine’s Turning Point USA chapter reacting to the backlash immediately following their tabling event.
GroupMe messages from the chapter show members reacting to the backlash over the Valentine’s Day grams Feb. 12. Some members responded with laughing emojis to the cards. Screenshots by Henry Adams
Yet several members reiterated during their chapter meeting that they are not against legal immigration, only illegal immigration. The path to legal immigration in the United States often involves extensive documentation, fees and long processing times. Of the 34,839,412 green card applicants in 2023, 1,091,979 were approved, according to the Carnegie Corporation.
This means nearly 3% of applicants received permanent residency in 2024, according to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
First-year member Olivia Cancellieri, who was present at the tabling event, said the event was civil for the most part, aside from a few personal attacks.
“I had a lot of civil conversation with people who didn’t agree with what we stood for, and that’s completely okay,” Cancellieri said. “Some people came up and said hateful things without even knowing me, and I just smiled and nodded. You want to stay strong in your beliefs but also be kind and just kill them with kindness.”
In the chapter’s GroupMe, Cancellieri wrote a student allegedly called her a “racist a– b—-.”
Markle declined to comment directly on the Democrats’ statement but confirmed that the cards came from TPUSA, not the Pepperdine chapter.
Pepperdine alumnus Michael Sugimoto (’25), co-founder of the TPUSA chapter, was originally scheduled to speak at the chapter meeting but the club did not notify Inter-Club Council (ICC) in time. ICC policy requires clubs to provide at least six weeks’ notice for outside speakers, according to their community page. Markle said she was not aware of this requirement.
Instead, she said Sugimoto was “attending the meeting as a guest.” However, Sugimoto still gave a speech at the event. He talked about the importance of free speech and civil discourse and encouraged students to express their beliefs openly.
Sugimoto said it was still important to attend TPUSA’s chapter meeting.
“It was important for me to continue inspiring future generations of Pepperdine students to promote free speech in and out of the classroom,” Sugimoto said. “We just need more young people in the arena and despite where you land on the political spectrum, fight for what you believe in. That’s the beautiful part about America.”
However, Sugimoto said he believes Pepperdine has moved away from fostering free speech and open dialogue.
“That’s something in the University that we’ve kind of strayed away from,” Sugimoto said. “Being able to have free speech on campus, and people can disagree, but still come together and talk about issues and ideas.”
Sugimoto’s comments come after the candlelight vigil for Charlie Kirk last September, hosted by Pepperdine’s Turning Point USA in collaboration with the Pepperdine College Republicans and Students Supporting Israel club. Several administrators attended the event, including President Jim Gash and Chancellor Sara Young Jackson. Tim Spivey, vice president for Spiritual Life, led a prayer at the vigil. Markle declined to comment on if whether she feels administration supports the chapter.
Later in his speech, Sugimoto said ICE had saved 62,000 children from human trafficking — a statistic first said on Fox & Friends by Tom Homan, the designated “border czar” under the Trump administration.
Sugimoto also said only 1% of ICE arrests were of legal residents. ICE tracks total arrests, detentions and removals but does not report whether those arrested are legal residents, undocumented immigrants or U.S. citizens, according to ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations statistics.
Sugimoto then directed his final message toward those who were offended by the Valentine’s Day grams.
“I guess for the people who didn’t like what was said, be glad that you’re not in another country where they would kill you or put you in prison for disagreeing,” Sugimoto said.
Smith wrote Turning Point and the Pepperdine community can learn from this event.
“I hope people are more conscious about how their actions affect others, regardless of intent,” Smith wrote. “I also hope people realize that we can find solidarity in each other to push back against hate and insensitivity. Our community is strong and we will always have each other’s backs.”
Smith wrote that she hopes administration will review the matter and take action.
“There is no space on our campus for hatred,” Smith said. “What Pepperdine chooses to do next will say a lot about whether they are serious about protecting all students.”
Despite community backlash, Markle said the TPUSA chapter wants to hear all voices, both conservative and liberal.
“Everyone is welcome at our meetings,” she said. “We want to hear all voices, not just the conservative people. We want to have conversations with civil discourse and respect.”
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Contact Marcos Lizarraga via email: marcos.lizarraga@pepperdine.edu