Conservative Students Reflect on Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

The killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has reverberated across U.S. college campuses, where many young Republicans grew up watching his “prove me wrong” debates and following his organization Turning Point USA. Six conservative student writers shared how they are processing his death.

Fear Replaces Debate

Peter McHugh of the University of Virginia notes that Kirk’s campus visits once gave students a sense of direct engagement with politics. Now, he says, “many of my classmates fear political involvement,” with some vowing never again to attend university events. McHugh insists the answer must be “more, not less, civil discourse,” warning that fear must not silence students.

Words, Not Bullets

John R. Puri of Stanford University admits he often dismissed Kirk’s rhetoric as reckless or conspiratorial. Yet he was shaken by the shooting: “He was in the protected sphere nonetheless, where ideological combatants fight with words, not bullets.” Puri argues the incident raises fears that disagreements on campus could now escalate to violence.

A Movement Builder

Benjamin Rothove of the University of Wisconsin-Madison once criticized Kirk as self-serving but changed his mind. “I was wrong about Charlie Kirk,” he writes, crediting him with uniting disparate groups on the right and mobilizing young men in support of Donald Trump. Rothove calls Kirk “a martyr for Gen Z conservatives.”

Champion of Dialogue

Lucy Spence of Notre Dame emphasizes Kirk’s practice of giving the microphone first to his opponents. “We needed him desperately,” she says, adding that both conservatives and liberals benefited from his willingness to listen.

The Danger of Celebrating Violence

Ethan Xu of the University of Texas at Austin says he was disturbed by students who publicly cheered Kirk’s murder. “There is no ‘uniting’ with people who want my friends and me dead,” he writes. Xu argues that labeling speech as violence leads to justifying physical attacks on conservatives.

Inspiration for Isolated Voices

At Amherst College, Jeb Allen describes himself as “the most vocal conservative voice” on campus. He credits Kirk with inspiring him to keep speaking, even when unpopular: “While Mr. Kirk’s tactics might not have been perfect, his courage offers a far better model to emulate.”

Together, the students’ reflections highlight both Kirk’s divisive legacy and the profound sense of vulnerability his killing has left among young conservatives.