Prayer, anguish and outrage filled the School of International Service Abramson Family Founders Room on Sept. 15 as over 30 people gathered to honor conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10 while on stage for his organization’s American Comeback Tour.
The vigil was organized by AU College Republicans and included multiple speakers from AUCRS and a speaker from AU Catholic, Rev. Ivan Pertine.
With American University ranked as one of the most liberal schools in the U.S., an event honoring a controversial conservative figure was sure to face opposition on campus. A petition against the event circulated and gained over 330 signatures.
Upon entrance, vigil attendees were handed tea light candles and invited to take a seat as gentle music played. The lights were dimmed, and there was a moment of silence before a series of speeches began.
AUPD’s involvement
A few American University Police personnel stood outside the Founders Room as the vigil took place, due to concerns of counter-protesters at the event.
According to Alex Austin, AUCRS vice president and junior in the School of Public Affairs, the club was originally going to have the event on the stairs of Kay Spiritual Life Center. However, AUPD and the Center for Student Involvement reached out to AUCRS and requested the event be moved. AUCRS originally relocated to the Woods-Brown Amphitheater, which AUPD also vetoed.
In a comment to The Eagle, Matthew Bennett, AU’s vice president and chief communications officer, said that these safety assessments by AUPD are not unusual.
“Given increased national concerns due to the recent shocking act of political violence which took place on a college campus, ensuring the safety of our students and our community was our focus in this matter,” Bennett said.
Opposition to the event
In the days leading up to the vigil, the petition opposing the event circulated on social media and was sent to over 20 members of the AU administration and administration offices.
According to Sam Geurtsen-Shoemate, a junior in SPA and the petition’s creator, it had over 200 signatures from students, alumni, community members and student organizations when he sent it to the administration on Sept. 12. The petition gained a total of 336 signatures by the time of the event.
When Geurtsen-Shoemate emailed the petition to over a dozen members and offices of administration, AU President Jonathan Alger responded three days later, on the evening of the vigil, to emphasize the importance of free speech on campus.
“As a university committed to inclusion and civil discourse, we can all work to combat hate and violence by modeling how individuals from diverse backgrounds can come together to live, learn, and work in an atmosphere of intellectual humility, curiosity, and mutual respect,” Alger wrote in an email that Geurtsen-Shoemate shared with The Eagle. “That is why we started the Civic Life initiative this past year.”
Alger stressed that the safety of campus community members “will always be our top priority.”
“Violence against any individual or group is antithetical to our educational mission and values,” Alger continued. “AUPD will carefully monitor ongoing events and will be prepared as always to support our community.”
Geurtsen-Shoemate expressed dissatisfaction with Alger’s response and said he wishes there was a formal complaint process so he wouldn’t have to “organize 300 people to even get a response from AU about this or that.”
Geurtsen-Shoemate also referenced a vigil on the quad hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine on Oct. 7 last fall. The vigil was shut down by the AU administration because the quad was booked for another event and SJP was violating amplified sound policies, according to Bennett.
“Honestly, I’m just offended by the fact that the administration would allow a vigil that clearly is actively intimidating students, instead, and then block the Palestine vigil,” Geurtsen-Shoemate said. “Either everyone gets vigils or no one gets vigils.”
During SJP’s vigil, AUPD stood by with bundles of zip ties, and a van was pulled up beside the quad, which threatened arrest of participants, SJP said in a statement to The Eagle last fall.
Others opposing AUCRS’s vigil for Kirk also referenced SJP’s, including Students for a Just Society in an Instagram statement from their executive board on Sept. 17.
“We condemn AU’s strategic suppression of vigils for Palestine. Denying space to mourn innocent women and children while allowing space to mourn Charlie Kirk exposes deeply flawed priorities,” the statement read. “The AU administration should not value the voice of one organization over another.”
Regarding contrasts between the administration’s response to SJP’s vigil versus AUCRS’s vigil, “All safety matters are reviewed and addressed based on the specific conditions at the time,” Bennett said in his comment to The Eagle. “Any comparison of one event to others is not accurate.”
Opposition also extended past the petition and social media.
After the AUCRS vigil, an argument erupted outside the Founders Room between vigil attendees and a few students who did not attend the vigil. Students studying on the SIS stairs looked on as the group loudly argued for nearly half an hour. AUPD had left the area by then.
Luciana Jiménez, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, was one of four students who argued against the vigil in an exchange with members of AUCRS. Jiménez briefly approached two AUCRS members seated outside the Founders Room as they checked in attendees, left, and later returned after the event had ended.
“We were just against the vigil happening, so we came here to see what was going on, and we just wanted to talk to them,” Jiménez said. “But they wouldn’t really answer any questions.”
The argument echoed through the doors as Austin spoke with The Eagle in the Founders Room.
Regarding the students arguing with vigil attendees, Austin said that he was “gonna pray for [them] before I pray for my friends tonight, because that is a soul that is in deep agony and is hungry for truth.”
“And I don’t care if you agree with Charlie or not, the fact is that tonight, he’s not gonna be the one tucking his kids in,” Austin added.
Speakers and organizers condemn political violence
In his speech at the vigil, Pertine acknowledged that he disagreed with some of Kirk’s ideas, but condemned those celebrating his death and political violence overall. He said he prayed for Kirk’s soul, his family and peace for the nation.
“It seems that evil and violence are victorious,” Pertine said. “And dialogue is defeated and silent.”
Pertine also referenced other instances of political and gun violence in America, including the Colorado school shooting that took place a few hours before Kirk’s assassination, and the June murder of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, which Austin also mentioned.
“This is not a right or left issue. This is an American issue…often we forget that the other side is, in fact, just like us,” Austin said. “We all bleed the same blood, and the fact that we lost that aspect of humanity, I think, is what causes things like the death of Melissa Hortman and Charlie Kirk.”
Vigil attendees’ reactions
Members of AUCRS were aware of Geurtsen-Shoemate’s petition, and some acknowledged the right to oppose their event.
Austin said he understood why people would sign that, and that if he “believed so strongly against what I do now, I probably would have signed that.”
“I'm certain that people who signed that petition were here tonight, and in this room itself, we had no disruptions,” Austin said. “It was a room of reverence and prayer and love and hope.”
Erek Williams, a freshman in SPA, attended the vigil despite his democratic views and dislike of what he called Kirk’s “hateful” rhetoric.
Williams said he appreciated the rejections of political violence from those upset by Kirk’s death, but also saw this as “selective rage,” as he felt there was still a lack of acknowledgement for the victims in the Colorado shooting.
“We really have to come together as a country, but [the right has] to meet us halfway,” Williams said. “I mean we can’t just be selective and say our guy got killed, let's create an uproar, but then when everything else happens, we’re gonna turn a blind eye to it.”
While Williams acknowledged that “how you die does not excuse how you choose to live,” he condemned those celebrating Kirk’s death and said it only leads to more division.
Hallvard Mista, an international student from Norway, had a similar reaction.
Mista hadn’t known of Kirk before his death, but heard of this event from another student in his class and decided to attend out of curiosity, and a desire to further understand America’s political climate.
Mista said that living in America at this time has been eye-opening.
“…you read of the divide between Democrats and Republicans, but it’s different to live it, and see it in everyday life, how divided people actually are,” Mista said.“To me, the divide is sad as well, because it’s less polarized at home and I see the advantage of that.”
Sam Brown, a sophomore at George Mason University, said he decided to attend the vigil because he has admired Kirk since he was 12, and recalled fond memories of watching Kirk’s debates alongside his uncle.
Brown expressed anger regarding many people’s responses to what happened to Kirk. He said he had to block numerous people on social media.
These strong emotions led Brown to begin posting on social media about his views. He said that he was no longer “afraid to be conservative.”
“After what happened to Charlie, I was like, ‘You know what? I can't stay silent anymore. I have to speak out. I have to stand up for what I believe in,’” Brown said. “And I lost a lot of people, but it was worth it… If they couldn't handle having me having a different point of view, they weren't worth associating with.”
Although Brown expressed how Kirk’s killing inspired him to be more vocal with his beliefs, he also revealed that the week after the assassination was one of the worst weeks of his life.
“This week has been the first time that I've ever had to fear murder in my entire life,” Brown said. “What happened to Charlie could have just easily happened to me or my coworkers or my friends in the conservative movement. And it's like, you know, we're all in danger now.”
Manar Abubakr, a sophomore in SPA and the School of Communication, echoed Brown’s concerns, underscoring the fear she feels about political violence towards conservatives.
“We could all be scrutinized or harassed or assaulted just because of [our] beliefs. And that is terrifying,” Abubakr said. “I just came here to not only remember him but to also stand as a beacon of hope in this dark, dark time.”
Austin said he thought of Kirk as a friend and someone he could relate to. He attended two of his events in the past and got to personally speak with Kirk at one of them.
When the news broke of Kirk’s assassination, Austin said he grew physically ill when he saw the video footage of the shooting.
“You know, our generation now, it is so desensitized to things like that, but there’s nothing worse than seeing someone who you love and someone who you know be killed,” Austin said.
This article was edited by Payton Anderson, Abigail Hatting, Neil Lazurus and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting, Emma Brown and Ariana Kavoossi.
