Utah Valley University students have returned to class days after right-wing activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed on campus.
Classes resumed on Wednesday for the first time since Wednesday of last week, when Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at an outdoor debate event on the Orem, Utah campus. Tyler Robinson, 22, has since been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting.
Student Josh Wirthlin said the campus community is now contending with the trauma of last week’s shooting.
“The entire campus is going through a measure of trauma, just because nobody should have to have this at their college,” he told local outlet ABC 4.
A large U.S. flag hangs over the campus courtyard where Kirk was killed. Several students gathered near the flag to pray and pay tribute to Kirk on Wednesday morning, ABC 4 reports.
First-year student Hope Ledkins told ABC News it’s a “very sad, very somber feeling” to be returning to class.
"This doesn't happen in Orem, Utah," she said. "To have something like this happen, people just feel really mixed up about it."
Kirk’s event was billed as the first stop on his “American Comeback Tour.” Roughly 3,000 people attended the event, which was open to students and members of the public, ABC News reports.
Nyasha Paradzai, a third-year student at the Utah school, told CNN he was just feet away from Kirk and waiting to debate him when the gunshot rang out.
“Right now, I’m working to get that horrific image out of my head, because, you know, it’s almost every time you close your eyes, you see it again,” he said.
Tiana Lao, another third-year student, said she also witnessed the shooting.
“Both me and my friend can still hear the gunshot clearly in our minds,” she told CNN. “We can’t get it out of our heads. It’s something that we can’t forget.”
“I’m just worried that the same thing is going to happen to me again as when I saw those videos and went back to campus,” she added. “I’m just scared that I’m not going to be able to focus as well. I’m worried that I’m going to be too shaky, and my heart is going to be racing again.”
Matthew Caldwell, 24, told the Associated Press his classmates were quieter but appeared more genuine about being in class in the wake of the shooting.
“The way that we treat each other in our words can ultimately lead to things like this,” he told the outlet. “And I think everybody sort of understands that a little bit better now.”
As students and staff return to campus, Utah Valley University is providing resources for those impacted by the shooting, including “additional counseling and trauma support services,” the school said in a statement.
The school will also hold a “Vigil for Unity” on its campus Friday night. The event will “provide a space for students, faculty, staff, and community members to come together in remembering, healing, and reaffirming shared values,” according to a statement from the school.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox unexpectedly came to campus and spoke with students on Wednesday morning, ABC 4 reports.
“We know some of you were here — I can't imagine…what you're seeing right now, what’s happening in your mind,” Cox said. “I know some of you are angry, and you deserve to be angry. I'm not here to tell you not to be angry. All I'm here to say is, what you do with that anger, that’s what determines where we go from here.”
“This is either the end of something terrible and the beginning of something better, or the beginning of something far worse,” he continued. “I don't get to make that choice. I wish I could, but you do. All of us together as Americans, we get to make that choice.”
Kirk’s memorial is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are both expected to speak, along with other members of the administration.
Robinson had his initial court appearance on Tuesday, which he attended via video. Prosecutors unveiled seven charges against the 22-year-old and confirmed they’re seeking the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Robinson’s next court hearing is set for September 29.
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