Students react to Charlie Kirk’s assassination and campus safety concerns

NORMAL, Ill. – In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University last week, students across the country have shared viewpoints on the situation and its consequences.

Charlie Kirk, cofounder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, is known for his activism and frequent visits to college campuses. Last semester, he spoke at Illinois State University, where he shared his views and engaged students in discussion and debate.

“I don’t think that anybody should be assassinated for giving the right to speak to somebody,” said ISU senior Ryan Dedic. “He’s like a journalist at the end of the day.”

Regardless of whether students agreed with Kirk’s views, many felt his assassination was wrong. He was killed while on his latest speaking tour, addressing a crowd outdoors.

“I feel like any time there’s a violent occurrence in the political situation through speeches it’s usually outside,” ISU freshman Hamdah Enazeh said. “Maybe doing things inside might help security more, just because not everyone’s always allowed inside as much as they are to walk around campus.”

The ability to prevent future incidents like Kirk’s assassination has been a topic of debate, as well as the nature of Kirk’s gatherings.

“I don’t know much about Charlie Kirk, but I do know that a lot of people got upset over this incident and it caused a lot of disputes on campus,” Enazeh said. “Nothing violent yet, but a lot of the controversy did make people split up and make them grow more wary of each other for their political viewpoints.”

While people on all parts of the political spectrum debate Kirk’s political agenda, others are working to help prevent situations like this in the future.