Ball State Turning Point USA chapter and college Republicans hold Charlie Kirk memorial

On Sept. 22 students and community members gathered in Pruis Hall to mourn and pray for the loss of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The vigil began with a prayer from Ball State’s Turning Point USA president Jacob Trueblood (TPUSA), in which he explained that this vigil was organized “to pray and to remember and honor [his] life and legacy.”

After the prayer concluded, Trueblood went on to explain how Kirk made it “cool” to be conservative again, comparing him to the apostles of Christ.

He then encouraged attendees that they could continue to grow his legacy by “living life the way Charlie would want [them] to.”

College Republicans at Ball State President Charles Mandziara also spoke at the vigil.

In his speech, he shared how Kirk was a family man, influencer, brother, father, husband and an American patriot.

He went on to say that even though he didn’t agree with everything Kirk said with his platform, after seeing the video of him getting killed he is “horrified” because Kirk was “one of us.”

Mandziara described his feelings since the assassination as being filled with “righteous anger.”

He ended his speech complimenting the audience in attendance.

“If you’re here today, it means you have a conscience. It means you have common sense, and it means you care about the state of this nation,” he said.

Following Mandziara’s speech, Delaware County Republican Chair Tim Overton talked about how Kirk’s wisdom distinguished him since he was a young activist.

He advised any crowd members wishing to be like Kirk that they need to have the faith he had when he was alive.

“He would talk to people as individuals, not collective groups. And that very much imitates Jesus Christ, who would talk to tax collectors, people low on the totem pole, [like] fisherman,” Overton said.

Indiana State Representative JD Prescott of District 33 followed Overton’s speech, also attending the vigil to celebrate the life and legacy of Kirk.

He shared how he heard about the assassination while attending an event in Indianapolis, and once the news broke, he said the whole room he was in went into prayer.

“That’s what we need is prayer. We need a revival,” he said.

He encouraged attendees to step into the faith and not just go to church for a week or two, but to “keep going, keep attending.”

During the vigil, Indiana State Senator Scott Alexander from District 26 shared that he’s also been feeling many emotions since the assasination.

He asked the question, “How can this happen in our country?”

Alexander encouraged students in attendance to get involved either with TPUSA or the College Republicans at Ball State. He also pointed to several signs in the audience that read “I Am Charlie,” and noted “there’s a piece of him now in every one of us.”

The final person who spoke at the vigil was Congresswoman Victoria Sparks.

She started her speech off with a quote by Aristotle, in which she said the most important job of every legislator is to educate the next generation since they are the ones fighting the battles for us.

“It is very powerful to be an American,” she said.

She encouraged young people to discuss these ideas and engage peacefully while they are young and don’t have as many responsibilities, because that’s the idea Kirk was trying to promote.

She also thanked the crowds for being there and encouraged attendees that “if they feel that they can make a difference in the world, they should.”

“You can be the next Charlie Kirk, any of you can be,” she said.

One of the students in attendance was second-year risk management and insurance student Camrynn Bowen. She said the event was important to her because she wants to support Kirk’s family, as she does not believe any violence is okay in any way.

“I’m hoping that [the vigil] causes people to understand and look out for violence more and stand up for people, knowing that in America, we have freedom of speech, whether or not anybody agrees with anything,” she said.

Something she would tell Kirk if he was still alive is “thank you” for fighting for people and religion, even though she said it is a “difficult and controversial topic.”

Along with the sympathizers were protesters who, throughout the vigil, could be heard laughing and playing audio of Kirk speaking. One of them was Ball State alumnus Joseph Souza, who disagreed with the nature and location of the event.

“I mean to be honest, having a memorial for a white nationalist with a sitting U.S. congresswoman who is helping fund the genocide, I think it’s important to come speak out,” he said.

Souza went on to say how he believes that this vigil would not have been hosted for other people, such as if a faculty member died from political violence.

“Why is our university sitting here doing this memorial when there are police officers on our campus that we know have participated in illegal political violence, speechless on that issue,” he said.

Another attendee was Juilan Franklin, who is part of Jackson for Congress, the Democratic party running against Sparks. He attended the vigil to hear the rhetoric, as he was worried the speakers would “share the same violent rhetoric” as comments he’s heard recently about the assassination.

He thought it was important for people to attend the vigil “to be open to dialogue.”

“It affects us. It’s our country, we’re gonna be inheriting these rules of power,” Franklin said.

Contact Shelby Anderson via email sanderson9@bsu.edu.