Georgetown University students mourned conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated Sept. 10, at a vigil held on the Old North steps Sept. 12.
Kirk, the founder of conservative youth advocacy organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University as part of The American Comeback Tour, during which he planned to visit colleges throughout the fall.
About 30 students attended the vigil, organized by the Georgetown University College Republicans (GUCR), where speakers condemned political violence and pledged to emulate Kirk’s commitment to engaging dialogue with people across the political spectrum.
After an opening prayer for Kirk in front of a cross-shaped display, members of the GUCR board invited students to share their thoughts on Kirk and the current political moment.
Knox Graham (SFS ’27), GUCR’s director of political affairs, said Kirk’s death was so difficult because he saw Kirk as not only a conservative leader, but an emblem of free speech and meaningful debate.
“He, for his entire professional life, did what we do, but to the fullest extent possible,” Graham told The Hoya. “He spoke with people about his ideas, and he wanted to share with people about his ideas, and he wanted to hear from them too. That’s something that we should all strive to emulate.”
On his social media platforms and podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” Kirk routinely debated left-leaning individuals. Kirk, whose tagline was “Prove Me Wrong,” also consistently took questions from both supporters and critics when speaking on college campuses.
Luke Madden (SFS ’28), who attended the vigil, said Kirk gave him confidence to be outspoken about his conservative beliefs while growing up in Los Angeles, a liberal-leaning area.
“He proved to not just me, but I think to everyone who has been afraid to share their ideals, to stand up for their values whether American, conservative, religious, and prove that it’s not just okay to defend them, but that is the only thing you can do,” Madden said in a speech at the vigil.
Jordan Van Slingerland (SFS ’26), the GUCR director of campus affairs, said he feels conservatives on college campuses are living in immense fear following the shooting.
“Since Wednesday afternoon, I’ve been sick, sick from fear for our country, sick from fear for this community, sick from fear for my younger brother, who now wonders if he can go out on campus wearing the Trump hat that he so likes to wear, speaking his mind the way he wants to,” Van Slingerland said to attendees. “And I’m not afraid to say that that fear is fear that I have too.”
At Bowdoin College, a vigil for Kirk scheduled for Sept. 14 was canceled by the school due to an external threat identified by Maine State Police. Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the country also received false threats Sept. 12 in the aftermath of the assassination, prompting several universities to cancel classes.
Gabe Ciralsky (SFS ’29), who attended the vigil, said Kirk’s death made him feel an indescribable grief.
“He was a person who got me into politics,” Ciralsky told The Hoya. “If it weren’t for Charlie Kirk, I probably wouldn’t be at Georgetown right now. I wouldn’t be interested in politics to the degree that I am right now.”
Ciralsky added that, in light of the shooting, it was difficult to begin college at a university like Georgetown, which he called a “cathedral of political thought.”
“If you can’t go out to a college campus, a university, which is meant to foster all sorts of ideas, diverse thought, thought from the furthest points of the left and the furthest points of the right and anywhere in between, without having to worry about your safety, I think that’s horrific and upsetting,” Ciralsky said.
Slingerland said that in remembering Kirk, he finds renewed confidence in his beliefs.
“Clearly something needs to be changed in the way that we think as an American society, and I just think for me it’s going to be — particularly as I’m now a senior here — a little bit less backing down,” Slingerland told The Hoya. “I’m going to be a little bit more proud of the opinions I have.”
Graham said Kirk’s legacy is up to students, who must commit themselves to continuing political discourse.
“You should talk with everyone on campus,” Graham said at the vigil. “You should talk with every Hoya who will listen to you. You should talk about what you think and how you feel and what you believe, because it’s important. Because if we stop talking, bad things happen.”
“Georgetown is too great a place for us to close up and for us to make our campus a place where something like this could happen — because it’s not,” he added. “It’s a place for people from all across our country to come with different opinions and with different ideas and exchange it in the capital of our country.”
