SMC Students Reflect on Charlie Kirk’s Death One Year Later
Sept. 10 marks the first anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He was killed during a Turning Point USA rally at Utah Valley University. Kirk was an American conservative political activist and entrepreneur. In 2012, he co-founded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA, and became known for his public debates on college campuses nationwide. His “Prove Me Wrong” debates attracted not only college students but social media influencers across the country.
Kirk heavily leveraged his podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Podcast” to mobilize young voters and amplify his political and religious views. Kirk endorsed President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election and had a close relationship with Trump until his death. While Kirk gained support from young voters, many people criticized his statements and beliefs during rallies and on social media. Many Americans remain divided over what Kirk advocated for, with mixed feelings about his death.
A year after Kirk’s death, I wanted to learn how Santa Monica College students remembered the day and how they reacted to the news. I spoke with several students on campus about where they were when they first heard about his death and how they felt about the reaction that followed.
Ricardo Williams, a 23-year-old astronomy major, said he was in New York traveling for work as a music assistant, and he was in the recording studio when he opened his phone and saw a video of the shooting. A lot of mixed emotions came up for Williams regarding how the internet reacted to Kirk’s death.
“When it happened I definitely laughed at a couple of memes,” Williams said. “It’s easy to make fun of someone due to the absurdity of the situation.”
He hated the way Kirk died and thought it was very unfortunate, but said that Kirk’s views toward minorities and the agenda he pushed, led to his death without Kirk realizing it.
“This isn’t the first time this country has had someone die for how they look and what they believe in,” Williams said.
Dru Aguilar, a 20-year-old political science major said he was at home scrolling through social media when he opened X, formerly known as Twitter, and saw footage of Kirk’s death.
Aguilar said he did not support Kirk’s beliefs and did not like him as a person. “If you know you’re a horrible person then you shouldn’t be surprised to be reacted to in a bad way,” Aguilar said.
30-year-old administration of justice major Michael Canche said he does not clearly remember where he was when he heard the news, but believes he was in class. He said he was shocked when he found out.
Canche said he did not know much about Kirk at the time but would occasionally stumble across his videos on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube shorts. He said he liked the way Kirk debated.
“He had good arguments and people would only argue with him just to start arguments,” Canche said.
He was not fond of how the internet reacted to Kirk’s death.
“People can be very insensitive to things they have never felt and for people to laugh at his death is insensitive,” Canche said.
Alejandro Figueroa, a 19-year-old majoring in accounting, said he was in his accounting class on the main campus when he heard Kirk’s voice playing from a video behind him. He said later on his professor stopped the class to announce Kirk’s death.
Figueroa said he did not agree with Kirk’s views and objected to his support for Israel. He also recalled seeing a video in which Kirk allegedly said, “We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s,” which further shaped his negative view of Kirk.
Figueroa said the reaction to Kirk’s death also made him think about the people affected by the shooting.
“We’re quick to poke fun at people and it's sad that a woman lost her husband and some kids lost their father,” Figueroa said.