Sacramento college students, leaders condemn assassination of Charlie Kirk
Sacramento-area college students and the leaders of those institutions are grappling with killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a talk at Utah Valley University Wednesday.
“This is reprehensible. We denounce violence. No one should be attacked because of their political beliefs, especially in an environment that prioritizes freedom of speech and freedom of expression. We must see the inherent humanity within all of us,” Sacramento State President Luke Wood wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
College campuses were a centerpiece of Kirk’s activism. He made a name for himself as an 18-year-old in 2012 by co-founding Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on both high school and college campuses. TPUSA now claims presence on 3,500 college campuses across the country, including Sacramento State and University of California, Davis.
Kirk was no stranger to the UC Davis campus — in 2023, 100 protesters clashed with police at a demonstration against the far-right commentator speaking on campus, resulting in two arrests. Prior to the event, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May released a video in which he condemned Kirk’s views, affirming his support for transgender and non-binary Aggies but noting his obligation to allow free speech events on campus.
Earlier this year, a group of students protested the appearance of another TPUSA speaker Brandon Tatum, resulting in multiple physical altercations, though Kirk was not present at the event.
May did not put out a statement in regard to Kirk’s death, instead referring the University of California President’s statement on the matter, but UC Davis spokesperson James Michael Nash wrote in an email that upholding first amendment rights and keeping students safe were among their top priorities.
“Our campus Principles of Community affirm the right of freedom of expression. We support students’ rights to bring speakers to campus and the respectful exchange of ideas and perspectives,” he said. “Safety for all is our top priority. Our offices of Student Affairs, Safety Services, police and fire departments and other units work with organizers to develop and implement safety plans and security for major events.
Wood sent out a message to Sacramento State students and staff Wednesday acknowledging the political climate and highlighting services available to the campus community.
“I know that we are living in a time of heightened tension, stress, anxiety, and confusion. I know there are members of our campus community who, due to the events surrounding the death of Charlie Kirk, are feeling unsafe. I hope we can extend these community members our grace and compassion.”
Student reactions to Kirk’s death
Student sentiments at Sac State echoed those of Wood’s and other leaders, but views of Kirk himself varied widely.
“I don’t agree with anything that (he’d) said or done, but I do mourn for his family,” said Amaya Williams, a junior studying communications.
Not everyone was willing to talk. One student who identified themselves as a member of Sac State’s men’s basketball team but wouldn’t give his name said he and his teammates had been instructed not to discuss the incident.
Others approached around campus offered various thoughts.
Davynn Patrick, a junior studying child development, said she’d shed tears on Wednesday after she got the news of Kirk’s death. Patrick was impacted by Kirk’s family and children being in attendance at the time of his killing.
Patrick hoped going forward that people would “have more love.”
“I feel like everyone should be able to have their own opinion and not be hurt by that, no matter what side you’re on,” said Patrick, who identifies as conservative.
Eric Vang, a dance major, said his views of Kirk were complicated. “I definitely did not view him in a very positive light, but also someone did go out of their way to kill him,” Vang said.
Merissa Jackson, a fourth-year student studying tourism and hospitality, said that violence was never the answer. Jackson also found some irony in Kirk’s death. “He was saying that he wanted to unalive all these people with guns, and that’s the way he went,” Jackson said. “Unalive” is a modern euphemism for “kill” or “murder” typically used to get around social media app censors.
Suny Vang, a 27-year-old liberal studies major who has voted for Donald Trump in past presidential elections, said he’d listened to Kirk’s podcasts before. Vang, who is no relation to Eric Vang, said he’d enjoyed Kirk’s support for America, though he found some of his views too harsh. Vang urged people to be willing to talk to their neighbors. “When people stop talking, as in this situation, people start shooting,” Vang said.
Elizabeth Gromfin, a fifth-year wildlife biology student at UC Davis, said that the manner of Kirk’s death wasn’t anything Gromfin wanted. But Gromfin didn’t feel too bad.
“I try to hold empathy for everyone, but I — he’s just done so, so much bad,” Gromfin said.
Alana Bailey, a fourth-year doctoral student at Davis studying applied math said she found Kirk’s death shocking at first and “a little bit expected, given the turn of the way the country is, but also just very sad in general.”
Bailey’s husband Andrew Jackson, who earned a doctorate in math from Davis in June, was standing next to Bailey in a campus parking lot while she spoke. He offered his thoughts on Kirk’s death, too.
“It was more bothersome from the campus violence angle than from the political aspect of it, but they were both pretty shocking,” said Jackson, a political independent, like his wife.
Jose Salazar is in his second year at Davis pursuing a doctorate degree in mathematical atmospheric sciences.
“Personally, I didn’t agree with a lot of the stuff that (Kirk) said,” Salazar said. “I’m not a conservative, I’m a liberal. But it doesn’t justify the fact that he got killed in a very inhumane way.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 3:25 PM.
CORRECTION: Charlie Kirk was killed on Wednesday. An earlier version of the story listed the incorrect day.
