Some elements of social media have been rough since the Sept. 10 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. But students at St. Augustine’s Flagler College dismissed the negativity, and instead expressed sadness, anger and a sense that a piece of civil discourse was lost.
“We lost a piece of the First Amendment when he was killed,” said Jack Tanner, a 20-year-old junior studying digital media production. “People, including myself, are going to fear public discourse. People won’t have the freedom to step up to the mic. The events will become regulated to the point of restricted freedom or they won’t happen at all.”
Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot at Utah Valley University while speaking to an audience of thousands during his “American Comeback Tour.”
Dylan Quigley, 22, a senior in business administration, spoke of Kirk as a father, son and husband killed for what he believed in. “That is not freedom,” he said.
“I am so incredibly devastated and angry that Charlie Kirk is dead,” said James Macgilveray, a 19-year-old psychology major. “But I am even more angry that it was my generation that has done this to a father, husband, son and friend. You may have an opinion, and Charlie Kirk was not afraid to share his opinion with anyone, but he’s dead because someone didn’t agree with him.”
Macgilveray spoke of Kirk as a role model.
“But the hard work and dedication of Charlie Kirk will live forever,” he said.
“We can’t keep killing people we disagree with. Lives matter even if the life is lived differently than your own,” said 19-year-old Olivia Delatorre.
With aspirations to become a lawyer, Lexi Young, 19, also spoke of the need to end the violence.
“Since children, we have always been taught to express ourselves. What does this mean to us now?” she said. “May family, friends, children, husbands and wives never be left without a loved one again. We have to find an end to this.”
Same shock, different campus
Hundreds of miles away at the University of Mississippi, Zach Taylor, son of St. Johns County Commissioner Ann Taylor, provided perspective from himself and dormmates.
The commissioner sent the quotes in response to The Record’s story on the reaction of local officials to Kirk’s death.
“The passing of Charlie Kirk was a horrible assassination that truly hurts the nation,” wrote Zach, a freshman business major. “Watching his debates on Tik Tok was always informative and inspiring. My friends and I were looking forward to finally seeing a debate in person. The news was truly jaw dropping.”
Collin Negron, a also a freshman business major, described the killing as “devastating for every college student.”
“His impact on the young community was really inspiring and changed a lot of people’s lives,” Negron wrote. “I know a lot of college students who looked up to Charlie, including me, and seeing him gone is horrible, and the world needs Jesus.”
“Charlie Kirk was such an inspiration to our youth in America,” said Kyle Curely, a junior studying criminal justice with an emphasis on homeland security. “Not only was he trying to spread the truth, but he was also a servant of God spreading the gospel and preaching how he gave his life to a higher power. He tried bringing both sides together in peaceful democratic debates, spreading ideas so everyone could understand each other’s thoughts from different perspectives. At a time when the country is more divided than ever before, what happened is going to divide us even further. I can only hope for our country and learn to grow from this and come together again. We are truly at our darkest point in American history.”
Other locals weigh in
Founders and lead pastors of St. Augustine’s Colonial Community Church, Matt and Jill McCloghry, offered words of comfort to students, parents and all Americans.
“We mourn and are devastated by the loss of Charlie Kirk,” they wrote. “We know that his faith in Christ has positioned him eternally and to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. He leaves behind a tremendous legacy, we’re grateful for the impact he had for the broader church and for the kingdom of God around the world. Many young people came to a Saving Faith because of his example. Charlie stood up for the truth with courage and conviction and was a fully committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. We would ask anyone and everyone to pray for his wife and children and also for our nation at this time.”
About Turning Point USA
Turning Point USA has more than 800 college chapters.
Traveling to America’s college and university campuses, Kirk’s “Prove Me Wrong” debates encouraged students to openly discuss his deeply religious convictions and his stance on issues including abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, climate change, gun violence and immigration.
A prominent ally of President Donald Trump, Kirk argued that America’s educational institutions portrayed a liberal bias. Kirk’s popularity soared during these college campus tours as thousands of supporters and dissenters stepped up to the microphone to debate him.
Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis weighed in on Kirk’s presence in America’s educational landscape.
“Charlie would articulate views that were very much outside of what most of the professors were offering or what the campus culture was offering and the way to do that is to ask questions, debate, that’s what the republic is based on,” he said during an event in the Florida Everglades in Miami-Dade.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: ‘Lost a piece of the First Amendment’: Flagler College students react to Charlie Kirk’s death
Reporting by Lucia Viti, St. Augustine Record / St. Augustine Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
