Students gathered in candlelight by Graham Chapel to mourn the death of political activist Charlie Kirk late Thursday evening. (Photo courtesy of Tim Mellman)

Last Thursday evening, Sept. 11, around 30 students gathered in the lamplight outside Graham Chapel to mourn the death, celebrate the life, and discuss the legacy of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

A day prior, Kirk — an outspoken ally of President Donald Trump — was shot and killed on a Utah college campus while debating students in a Q&A-style event. Kirk was widely known for fiery debates as the founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a national organization dedicated to advocating for conservative viewpoints in college and high school settings.

The vigil was organized independently by sophomore Arianna Zeldin, who had previously met Kirk at a TPUSA event and is the daughter of United States Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin.

“[Kirk] was a big inspiration to me. Besides my father, he was somebody in politics I looked up to and will always look up to. I thought it was only right if I did something for him,” Zeldin said. 

The vigil took place next to a small memorial, consisting of three dozen small tealights, an American flag, and two signs. One sign remembered Kirk as a husband, father, and patriot, and the other left a message for the WashU community: “For those who disagreed with Charlie, prove to yourself that you still have a heart and let him R.I.P.”

Although the students left the signs following the vigil, they had been removed from the chapel’s vicinity by the following morning.

Several students spoke following Zeldin’s initial speech, including sophomore Thomas McGowan, reflecting on what he described as Kirk’s willingness to engage with students across the political spectrum.

“His whole schtick was dialogue and reaching out an olive branch to people who did not agree with him,” McGowan said in an interview with Student Life following the event. “People have been so alienated that they would rather pull the trigger on a rifle than turn on a microphone.”

In a statement shared with Student Life, vigil attendee and Washington University Republicans president Ella Bruno expressed grief over Kirk’s death and said that she has observed those in her organization unifying in the aftermath of the shooting.

“The College Republicans believe this marks a turning point in American history,” Bruno wrote. “His death is the almost unthinkable horror of what many conservatives are most scared of … violence for representing patriotic and conservative ideals. This is a crucial time where College Republicans are coming together, from vocal individuals like myself to those who are too scared to express their ideals for fear.” 

Shortly after the news of the killing circulated, WashU’s College Democrats condemned political violence and reiterated the value of peaceful discussions in a statement shared with their followers on Instagram.

“Now is not the time for political division. More than ever, we need to … find practical solutions and bring our country together,” reads a statement by the College Democrat’s Public Relations Chair, junior Collin Lloyd. “WashU College Democrats stand firmly against any form of political violence and continue to strive for a democracy of peaceful dialogue regardless of political ideology.”

McGowan echoed the call for dialogue across divisions in an interview with Student Life. 

“Talk with people; even if you hate what they have to say, it’s still worth the second,” he said. 

In a media interview the day after the vigil, Bruno reflected on Kirk’s legacy and what she described as his normalization of conservative viewpoints among the college-aged generation. 

“He made it almost cool to be conservative again. He was very confident, very outspoken, and that’s something that we don’t see nowadays,” Bruno said. “It’s almost not acceptable in this generation to be right-leaning or to have conservative values, but he said, ‘No, it’s okay to love your country. It’s okay to be patriotic.'”