On Wednesday night, the UCF chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) hosted a Charlie Kirk memorial at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, in cooperation with the Rosen College TPUSA chapter and the Central Florida Young Republicans (CFYR), to celebrate his life.
The UCF Memorial took place in the Darden Auditorium at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management. The event was met with heightened security measures and was attended by multiple conservative members of the Central Florida community.
Vice President of TPUSA at UCF, Matthew Lloyd, began his remarks by highlighting his reaction to the video of Kirk’s death that was widely circulated. He described himself as in deep agony in response to the video, but highlighted that that very moment would be the time that the conservative movement needed to rise up. Lloyd stated that since Kirk can no longer converse with students, “we will.”
UCF Chapter President, Kyle Christy, also spoke at the memorial. Christy highlighted in his speech that he initially wasn’t fond of Charlie Kirk, but over time grew to appreciate his ability to speak with individuals who disagreed with him, describing Kirk as someone who always “wanted to talk it out.” Christy also criticized what he described as the insensitive social media posts surrounding Kirk after his death, referred to as “Kirkiversary.”
The event was followed by remarks from the Mayor of Edgewater, Diezel DePew, and other leaders within TPUSA at UCF, TPUSA at Rosen, and CFYR.
The highlight of the memorial came when conservative activist Kaitlin Bennett arrived on stage. She engaged in a 1-on-1 conversation with Vice President Lloyd, surrounding her experiences with Charlie Kirk and TPUSA.
Bennett described Charlie Kirk as a walking encyclopedia and briefly covered why she originally left TPUSA in 2018. Bennett’s TPUSA Chapter at Kent State University held an anti-safe space protest, in which they opposed the university’s safe spaces program. The chapter protested by having a student dress up in an adult diaper, blowing bubbles, and sucking on a pacifier to mock safe spaces. Charlie Kirk and TPUSA as a whole distanced themselves from the Kent State chapter, which led Bennett to sign a resignation letter.
Although this event deeply strained Bennett and Kirk’s relationship, Bennett revealed that 2 months prior to Kirk’s death, she planned to reach out to apologize and find common ground to start again. However, she delayed making this call to Kirk until she heard about him being shot at a university. Bennett described that Charlie’s death affected her personally, and it made her reflect on how to approach and speak to others. Before speaking to someone, Bennett said she now asks herself how Charlie would talk to this person.
Knight News had the exclusive chance to talk with Kaitlin Bennett after the memorial service concluded. Since Charlie Kirk’s death, there has been internal disagreement amongst TPUSA chapters, specifically covering U.S. support for Israel and the war in Iran. Bennett said that “Charlie would’ve probably loved it.” She noted that Charlie not only encouraged disagreement, but even more so advocated for people to explain and rationalize their disagreements. “There’s no better way to find the truth than talking to someone you disagree with,” she said.
Almost a year ago to the date, Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a TPUSA speaking event at Utah Valley University. His death deeply impacted the conservative movement across the nation, including the TPUSA chapter at UCF.
