FIU students remember Kirk, confront questions about violence and mental health, and hear calls for unity in a guided reflection.
Staff Writer | Gabriella Mateo
On September 11th at 8 p.m., students gathered in the Graham Center Ballrooms to process the death of Turning Point USA cofounder Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed the previous day at Utah Valley University.
Will Alvarez, University Safety Officer, led the discussion alongside the FIU Police Chaplain in an open forum where many students cried, expressed fear, and shared personal stories of times they had met or interacted with Kirk, some even saying he felt like a brother or friend to them.
“We’re not only remembering yesterday, but also September 11. This is compounded. Suffering is universal. None of us has an exemption to that rule,” stated the chaplain in his opening remarks.
Kirk, 31, was hosting the launch of “The American Comeback Tour,” which was meant to bring him to college campuses to debate students, when he was shot in the neck by an unknown assailant. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Turning Point USA, a conservative grassroots organization founded by Kirk when he was 18, has grown to more than 850 college chapters, including one at FIU.
Former president of FIU’s Turning Point group, Cristin Lamiera, stated, “I still feel sick and devastated. What keeps me grounded is knowing he is now with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and that he is in a better place. He died for a good cause and to improve America.”
His death has caused a nationwide uproar against political violence, but has also split the country between honoring him and condemning his values. Many critics point to a moment in 2023 when he stated, “I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth having a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
When asked about the prospect of gun control, Lamiera responded, “This is why we need guns: to defend vulnerable people. It is the human, not the gun. There’s a mental health crisis in America that unfortunately hasn’t been addressed.”
President Trump announced today that Kirk will be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award, posthumously.
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