HOUSTON – The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university has sparked a wave of reflection among college students.
In Houston, opinions about Kirk’s political views varied among students at the University of Houston (UH) and Texas Southern University (TSU).
But a common sentiment emerged: violence is never the answer.
Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
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Witnesses reported that a single shot struck Kirk in the neck as he addressed students, leading to his death shortly after.
We set out with a whiteboard and markers, asking college students to write how they feel, what they’re thinking, their reaction to the assassination of a political activist.
One student at Texas Southern University wrote the word “division,” explaining, “It’s a dividing topic. That’s all I got to say.”
Another student chose the word “heartbreaking.”
“I wrote the word heartbreaking because it’s like everybody is just saying, ‘Oh, he deserved it.’ But I feel like he has a family, he has kids. It’s like, no matter if he has a different political view than somebody, it doesn’t mean that you just shoot somebody.”
A TSU student commented on the public nature of the assassination, saying, “I don’t know… nobody’s supposed to be publicly executed like that. Like, no matter what you did, like to be killed, dying in front of the public, in front your family, over an opinion is just crazy.”
Another student reflected on the broader implications of the act, stating, “Anything that has to do with violence always amazes me because I don’t understand how we quote unquote love each other oh so much, but we keep killing each other, hurting each other from each other.”
The consensus among students, regardless of their political affiliations, was clear: violence is not the answer.
It doesn’t matter if the people who shared these words loved Charlie Kirk or disagreed with every word that he ever spoke. Many agree on one thing: violence and taking a life is not and never will be the answer.
The FBI is continuing its investigation into the assassination, with authorities releasing images of a person of interest and offering a reward for information leading to an arrest.
Governor Spencer Cox of Utah has described the incident as a “political assassination,” and President Donald Trump has announced plans to posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.