Walking through or by the Rhatigan Student Center on Wednesday evening, it was hard to ignore the seemingly endless crowd of people gathered outside. Around 1,700 attended a vigil to honor Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, who was fatally shot in Utah earlier this month. 

Kirk, who was known for his political commentary, was on the first leg of “The American Comeback” tour, in which he planned to visit college campuses for open debates with students on topics like gender, sexuality, race and gun control. During one of these visits on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University, Kirk was assassinated. 

Students and community members all crowded on the lawn east of the RSC for the vigil, and a small group of protesters were nearby.

“When we originally planned the event, we were planning on going into Grace Memorial Chapel,” WSU’s Turning Point USA Chapter President Ryan Whalen said following the vigil. “And then I think in the first two or three hours (after announcing the event), we realized that already had filled. So obviously, that wasn’t going to be enough.”

Whalen said the chapter saw the number of people interested in attending grow rapidly in the lead up to the event. 

“It was a bunch more than I expected, especially looking at the Facebook (event),” said Savanna Sparrow, a WSU TPUSA member. “It said that we had about 530 people interested, and then it climbed up to 580.” 

An international student studying industrial engineering, Uriel Batukandikila Mbengu, shared surprise at the number of attendees. 

“I was surprised, because I didn’t know that the group was going to be that big,” Batukandikila Mbengu said. “I’ll say the only thing is maybe that it can be a bit of a disruption, because my friend was not able to get a parking spot.”

TPUSA helpers passed candles to the crowd, but they quickly ran out. Although delayed in transit, more candles — donated by former Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer — arrived later in the evening. 

High security measures

Due to the circumstances that caused the vigil — the shooting of Kirk on a Utah college campus — security was high. 

Police officers stood at the north and south entrances to the lawn, and some were inside the RSC. Police marksmen also positioned themselves on the roof of the RSC.

Whalen said he reached out to the Wichita Police Department on Sept. 12 as he began working to organize the vigil. 

“I wanted to let them know as soon as possible,” he said. 

Whalen also said that he and his cabinet were told by campus police to report “anything that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck at all.” 

Only a couple of heated Facebook arguments ended up being reported, according to Whalen. 

Controversies in life and death

Similar to his life, Kirk’s death has been controversial. While some mourned his death on social media, many people expressed a lack of empathy due to his anti-gun control stance or even celebrated his death.

Olivia Krolczyk, who spoke on campus at a TPUSA event earlier this year, is one of multiple people who began a social media campaign against anyone who made anti-Kirk posts following his assassination. Krolczyk is using X, formerly known as Twitter, to reveal some of these individuals’ names and their posts. A post on Sept. 16 said she has contacted 706 employers so far. 

While some opposition was happening purely online, at the vigil some individuals were there protesting Kirk’s beliefs and not his death.

A sign held by one protester said, “Where is your empathy?” The sign also read topics the holder disagreed with Kirk about, including ICE, school shootings and Palestine. 

Whalen said he thinks they have a right to protest, but he still disagrees with them. 

“I think it’s pretty distasteful to do it at a vigil,” Whalen said. 

Some attendees stopped to debate the protesters, but the debates never escalated past verbal arguments and some vigil attendees shouting at the protesters. 

WSU student Destiney Trochez, who neither participated in the vigil nor protested, said she disagreed with the speakers’ characterization of Kirk’s religious backing of his beliefs. 

“I have a bunch of scriptures for the people saying that he was the man of God,” Trochez said. 

Trochez compared Kirk’s public stances, like his anti-immigration positions, to some Bible verses, including Leviticus 19:33-34:  

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

Trochez also cited Proverbs 6:18-19, 1 John 4:20, and Ephesians 4:31. 

“And if he really stood for anything that he said he stood for with these scriptures in the Bible, his views would have been completely different from what they’re saying,” Trochez said. “And he is not the second Jesus.” 

‘It still, quite frankly, feels numb’

Whalen, who spoke to the crowd to begin the vigil, recounted learning about the assassination of Kirk to the crowd. 

“Last Wednesday around 1:30 p.m., I was finishing up my last class of the day, and I got a text from a close friend that Charlie was shot,” Whalen said. “I silently prayed.” 

Whalen said he felt numb, as did other WSU TPUSA members who spoke. 

“It didn’t seem real,” Whalen said. “And it still, quite frankly, feels numb.” 

WSU TPUSA Vice President Mason Fouquet spoke directly to Kirk in the opening of his speech. 

“Charlie, you were a giant among men,” Fouquet said. “You were a true visionary, an undeniably strong leader and someone that we could all strive to emulate.” 

Following the speeches from chapter officials, the Aftershock Student Ministry led worship music with the crowd. 

Along with TPUSA officials and student ministry, there were pastors from area churches that preached to close out the evening. 

Despite the controversy and large crowds, Whalen said he and the WSU TPUSA officers weren’t as nervous throughout the vigil as they expected to be. 

“All of us officers, we were talking — we had dinner afterwards — and we said that considering how many people were there, we surprisingly did not feel as nervous as we had expected,” Whalen said. “I think it was just kind of an in the moment thing.”