SUSSEX, Wis. — A Sussex Hamilton High School senior has been punished for taking down a poster for a club, which she thought didn't exist.
The student's mother, Erin Nasgovitz, emailed TMJ4 after she said students at Hamilton High School started a Turning Point USA Club. That club was denied by a unanimous student council vote, but then approved anyway by the school's principal.
Nasgovitz's daughter was caught in the middle and suspended after she said confusion overcame students while school leaders left crucial information out of play.
The public assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk sparked conversations nearly everywhere. Sussex Hamilton High School was no exception.
"There was a lot of discussion amongst students and back and forth conversations, and then shortly thereafter the club was formed," Nasgovitz said.
Watch: High school student suspended for 'severe vandalism' after removing Turning Point club poster
Following Kirk's death, a group of students at Hamilton put in an application to form "Club America," a club that would be "powered" by Kirk's organization, Turning Point USA, according to Hamilton's principal.
Before October 24, all clubs at Hamilton had to be approved by the student council. On October 22, the council voted unanimously, 35-0, against the club's formation.
Days later, Club America posters started popping up in the school's hallways.
"They did not know it was a club; they didn't know what had happened," Nasgovitz said. "She [Nasgovitz's daughter] removed the poster that was near her locker and said it made her uncomfortable with the confusion."
Nasgovitz's daughter is a senior at Hamilton. She's involved in extracurriculars and is vice president of the school's National Honor Society.
Two weeks after Nasgovitz says her daughter removed that poster, she was suspended.
"We consider that to be vandalism and at times harassment depending on what the behavior is," Dominic Bauer, Hamilton High School's principal, said.
"Do you think that the situation is fair?" Reporter Jenna Rae asked Nasgovitz.
"Absolutely not. Especially because I don't understand," Nasgovitz responded. "We should be able to question why was that, why was that the best action, why was that the best route, does that fit for this specific infraction and this student?"
Nasgovitz blames her daughter's actions on confusion. She and other students thought the club did not exist.
They later learned Hamilton's principal overturned the council's decision and told no one on the council until Wednesday night.
"What I learned is that a lot of schools don't have a vote for this kind of thing, and as I dug in more, I came to stumble upon the Equal Access Act of 1984," Bauer explained.
The Equal Access Act states that schools may not deny comparable access to any other student group because of the "religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at [the group's] meetings."
"So why are you making this change? Because of this club being voted down?" Rae asked Bauer.
"We were out of compliance with the law," Bauer responded.
Based on this, the principal decided something else too. The student council can no longer decide which clubs can exist on campus.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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