House Bill 113, filed by Rep. Kevin Steele, would require universities like FIU to rename a campus road or risk losing state funding, sparking debate between student political groups.
Jonathan Roman | Staff Writer
Republican Congressman Kevin M. Steele has filed House Bill 113, requiring all of Florida’s public state universities and colleges to rename at least one road on campus after Charlie Kirk. The conservative activist was shot and killed on Sept.10.
The news comes as earlier this month, a Florida Highway was named after Kirk, the house bill points to specific roads on campus that Representative Steele wants colleges to rename. If the bill is passed, FIU would have to rename Southwest 17 to Charlie James Kirk Street.
Notably, if colleges and universities fail to name a road after Kirk, they will not receive state funds. “State funds to be withheld for any university or institution that fails to redesignate a road or portion of a roadway within such a time period; providing an effective date.”
Panther Now reached out to FIU College Republicans, and Dariel Gonzalez, FIU GOP Recruitment Chair, said to us in a statement, “FIU College Republicans supports House Bill 113. We believe naming a road on Florida college campuses after Mr. Kirk is a meaningful way to honor someone whose message has inspired an entire generation of young people. Charlie Kirk has spent his life defending free speech, civic engagement, and the conservative values we believe in here at FIU GOP.
By honoring his legacy through campus landmarks, we can remind future students that open dialogue, bold ideas, and principled leadership still matter! We’re of course grateful to Representative Kevin Steele for introducing this bill, and we encourage lawmakers and FIU’s Board of Trustees to make this a reality.
“Charlie James Kirk Drive” would stand as a symbol of courage and conviction, a reminder that the fight for freedom of thought and expression will always live on!
PantherNow also reached out to FIU College Democrats, whose President, Alexandria Gopee, said in a statement, “The passage of HB 113 poses an immediate threat to the freedom and integrity of higher education in Florida. By holding the possibility of funding cuts over the heads of our public colleges and universities, this bill sends a clear and harmful message: that our representatives would rather make political statements rooted in exclusion and bigotry than invest in the education and future of Florida’s students.”
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