LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — UNLV student activists and groups from across the political spectrum express sadness and outrage over the murder of activist Charlie Kirk.
This happened on a Utah college campus. Students are now calling for university leaders to protect free speech events.
Charlie Kirk held two rallies at UNLV in 2024, according to student activists who attended them. The latest rally was held Oct. 24, during the presidential campaign.
From Republicans to Democrats, student activists from a variety of causes often host public speakers at events for students.
UNLV’s Interim President Chris Heavey released the following statement, which says in part:
What will be the proper protocol, if students want to organize an event with a political speaker in the future?
“We have security protocols in place for high profile events, which we continually evaluate and update as needed,” a spokesperson said to FOX5.
Students who attended or helped organize the Charlie Kirk rallies at UNLV expressed sadness over the incident in Utah, describing the events in Las Vegas as respectful and full of discourse.
“I just love to see that discourse and that open and honest conversation between students and Charlie… There’s a lot of people who disagreed. To see that this attack happen and he lost his life over doing this, I think it’s incredibly tragic just for free speech in this country,” said Simar Kosa, who saw Kirk speak in the spring.
“Today is a day of sadness… All [Kirk] wanted to do was have a conversation. And it makes you think, is that ability still going to be able to happen on college campuses around the nation? And my hope is it still can,” said concerned student and military veteran Clayton Kent.
“So whether you agreed with Charlie Kirk or not, I feel like he made young people feel like their voices mattered more than ever before. So it’s really sad to hear the news today,” said Nick Shahryari, who attended the fall event and felt that the crowd was safe.
The First Amendment was implemented so we can have these discussions. We shouldn’t have to fear of being censored or silenced,” said Alex Silva, who helped organize the audio for the fall speaking event in his prior capacity with UNLV Republicans.
Students from across the aisle have worked with one another at UNLV; students worked together to push for the passage of Senate Bill 156, which called for a study on gun violence prevention. It was eventually vetoed.
FOX5 spoke to students and alumni from Democratic “Youth Voice.” The group has brought Congressional and state leaders to speak to students on campus.
“I think the solution is coming together to solve this person-to-person. The long-term consequences are the stifling of freedom of speech, right? If you’re a student who wants to get involved politically, even that exploration is stifled when you’re too afraid to go to any event,” said alum Hernan Alvarez-Sanchez.
“It is that sinking of the feeling that we are not safe in our public spaces. And the immediate thought was of our loved ones. It is really a small community here in Las Vegas. We could have easily known someone there on the Utah campus and our thoughts are with them,” said alum Andrew Clarke.
“It’s scary nowadays to just say what you think, especially on campuses. Unfortunately, there have been multiple shootings across the nation. It’s tough, the reality that we as Americans are going through,” said student Imer Cespedes.
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