Charlie Kirk dead; SJSU responds

Conversations and debates among San José State University students about political and gun violence sparked on Wednesday after Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed around noon while speaking at a Utah Valley University campus event. 

Around the same time, there was also a school shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado, with one student critically wounded, according to a Sept. 10 article from CBS News. 

President Donald J. Trump made a proclamation the same day in “Honoring the Memory of Charlie Kirk.”

“I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, September 14, 2025,” Trump said. 

A similar event occurred on June 14 when House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman was fatally shot, according to a report by the Minnesota House of Representatives.

However, the White House never proclaimed to lower the flag at half-staff in honor of her memory.

SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson also made a statement in an email to students about the shooting in Utah in the early evening.

“Today’s tragic event at Utah Valley University, another institution of higher education, has no place in our society, and we should stand against any sort of political violence personally and institutionally,” Teniente-Matson said. 

Vignesh Vipin, a fourth-year engineering student, said he was concerned about other people who are around when dangerous situations like these occur. 

“If the shooter missed, it could be someone else. There’s always that issue of, hey, if you’re resorting to violence, there are more people that can get hurt,” Vipin said. 

The SJSU University Police Department did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication. 

Ryan Skinnell, an SJSU associate professor of rhetoric and writing in the Department of English and Comparative Literature, said he was concerned about what this assassination means for those in politics. 

“Wherever you stand on Charlie Kirk’s politics, his death today is a very bad sign for our democracy,” Skinnell said. “We still don’t know the shooter’s motive, but if it was politically motivated, it’s a scary commentary on what people believe qualifies as effective politics.” 

Jordan Robinson, president of Turning Point USA at SJSU, said that he has no comment on the situation. 

The rest of the Turning Point USA at SJSU board members did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.

Students for a Democratic Society at SJSU, a progressive student activist organization, also declined to comment at this time. 

On Wednesday evening, BridgeSJSU held a meet and greet with other political organizations on campus; however, it focused more on the assassination of Kirk and issues of political violence. 

Margot Catrini, a fourth-year applied mathematics student and president of BridgeSJSU, said she believes it’s important to be able to have civil political conversations. 

“We are a non-partisan organization, we respect people of all ideologies and I think events like this kind of show the need for conversation … talking about things even when you don’t necessarily agree, that’s the only way to come to solutions,” Catrini said. 

“We condemn acts of violence, we send our condolences to Charlie Kirk, other folks who have been involved, and we hope that as a result of this, people may be more willing to be open with one another,” said Catrini. 

At this time, no suspect has been found for the assassination of Kirk, and police continue to search for the shooter, according to an update by CBS News. 

Dyon Capote, an education graduate student at SJSU, finds it upsetting how the school shooting in Colorado has not been given media attention like the assassination has. 

“I think it (the Evergreen High School shooting) shouldn’t be overshadowed  … oftentimes headlines will go more to someone notable or someone famous, but really, things that affect the masses or children should be just as much at the forefront of what’s being focused on,” Capote said.

The suspect in the Evergreen school shooting was announced dead, shooting himself after shooting two classmates, according to a Sep. 10 article by the Denver Post. 

Timothy Delacruz, a fourth-year electrical engineering student, stated that he has a difficult time feeling bad about Kirk’s assassination. 

“I know what he’s been saying about any group that’s not white. It’s very dehumanizing, very racist, just outright cruel. So it’s hard to feel bad about the murder at all,” Delacruz said. “At the same time, I don’t really see a benefit at all to assassinate a propagandist.” 

While Turning Point USA at SJSU announced they are unable to have a vigil for Kirk on their Instagram story, other Turning Point chapters, such as TP Berkeley, announced candlelight vigils for Wednesday night. 

Harman Singh, a first-year chemical engineering student, believes that violence is not a proper resort to take simply because of opposing views. 

“I think it was pretty wrong … just because you don’t agree about a person’s opinion or how they see, you shouldn’t just shoot the guy and go straight to violence,” Singh said. “He’s still a person. He has people who care about him. He has a family.”

Sophia Howell, a second-year environmental studies student, believes Kirk should not have died. However, she does not think the narrative should paint him as a hero or a saint because of his death.

“It’s hard to mourn the death of a man who didn’t value the innocent lives of others. While I don’t think Kirk should have died, I don’t think he should be viewed as a martyr,” Howell said. “He was an extremist who was the source of suffering for many. Extremists will fuel extreme reactions.”