Students, professors, alumni, families and community members gathered to remember political commentator Charlie Kirk on Sept. 11 outside of Old Main.  

Drake College Republicans Chair Kira Strashko was in class when she learned Kirk had been fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University. After calling her mom, ignoring a barrage of text messages from friends and family and taking time to process, Strashko contacted the rest of the College Republicans executive board.

“We need to come together. We need to do something,” Strashko said.

The board stayed on campus until after 10 p.m. on Sept. 10, drafting a press release and planning a vigil for Kirk. By the next morning, posters advertising the vigil were up across campus.

Going into the event, Strashko’s biggest concern was people who didn’t agree with Kirk showing up and “ruining the moment.” 

“The past two days, seeing the division, even the classroom and on social media, it was really disheartening to see,” Strashko said. “There were a lot of people posting some really vile things. And I understand that you didn’t agree, but there’s a lot of people out there who are grieving, especially his wife and children.”

Around 50 people attended the vigil. Each attendee was offered a flower, a candle and an American flag. The vigil began with a short prayer, and everyone was invited to share how Kirk had impacted them. 

“I’m glad to see that we all could respect one another and let those who wanted to grieve, and those who didn’t, they could go on about their night,” Strashko said.

Senior Hayden Crawford, a longtime follower of Kirk, was in class when he got the news of the shooting. When Crawford saw Drake College Republicans’ Instagram post advertising the vigil, he knew he wanted to go.

“Sometimes it kind of feels like we’re alone,” Crawford said. “To have people that generally share the same feelings is always kind of nice.”

Although Strashko and her executive council planned the event for students, she was overwhelmed when she saw the support from families, community members and alumni. 

“Having like older generations come here, people I don’t know, it was very good to hear that they have our backs, that they’re here for us, that they’re proud of us for hosting the event and standing up for what we believe in,” Strashko said.

Debbie Roney, a 1978 graduate of Drake, heard about the vigil from her sister. Roney and her family have been watching and listening to Kirk for years.

“I wanted to, number one, support the College Republicans, and I wanted to let them know that we’re in this with them,” Roney said. “And then I wanted people to know that it’s important that we would be able to communicate and be able to talk. As Charlie [Kirk] always said, ‘We don’t raise our voice, we dialogue together, but we don’t have any violence.’”

Crawford said that one thing he is taking away from Kirk’s message is that he needs to speak up more.

“There’s been a lot of times where I’ve wanted to speak up and say, ‘Hey, this is what I think,’ that I haven’t,” Crawford said. “He was always a voice of somebody that did that. So to me, in life, and especially in his passing, just speak your minds. Conversations fix things.”

Despite the violence that caused Kirk’s death and the reaction from her peers on social media, Strashko is not afraid to be on Drake’s campus.

“I’ve never felt unsafe here,” Strashko said. “With the event, I can’t say that has changed too much, just because I know Drake. I know violence is not the answer here at Drake. But I don’t know what that means for other college campuses.”

Throughout the vigil, Strashko and other board members emphasized the importance of offering respect and dignity to everyone, no matter their opinion.

“We need to be kind to one another, and I think that is what’s going to stop the violence in the future,” Strashko said.

Sadie Jones contributed to reporting.

This story was originally published on The Times-Delphic on September 16, 2025.