Supporters are advancing dozens of proposals, ranging from a new debate-oriented college degree to a statue inside the U.S. Capitol.
OREM, Utah—Dozens of petitions seeking tributes for conservative commentator Charlie Kirk are circulating, ranging from simple to elaborate. And one man proposes a sort of living memorial—a degree program in civics and civil discourse—at Utah Valley University (UVU), where Kirk was slain Sept. 10.
Val Johnson—a UVU graduate and a grandson of the university’s founding president, Hyrum Johnson—told The Epoch Times that memorial statues and commemorative dates can be meaningful. But he thinks teaching people how to debate current issues like Kirk did would be far more impactful.
“I think Charlie would say that’s the essence of what he was trying to do,” Johnson said. “His life ended here, but it’s with a chance to rebirth civics and civil discussion here.”
In a petition urging the university to create this new program, Johnson said he believes that UVU owes Kirk “an unpayable debt for one of the greatest tragedies to have ever taken place in Utah.”
Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two and cofounder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot while speaking to students on the UVU campus; Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspected gunman who was not a UVU student, faces the death penalty if convicted. Officials have called the crime a “political assassination”; they released text messages from the suspect expressing strong animosity toward Kirk and his views.
Johnson updated The Epoch Times on his petition drive Sept. 19, after an initial interview on the campus Sept. 16. On that date, he sought signatures from people who were visiting makeshift memorials to Kirk on the UVU campus.
Balloons, flowers, posters, and photographs of Kirk were among the tributes left near the school’s main entrance and in the courtyard, close to the shooting site. Some posters said, “I am Charlie Kirk,” a way to declare solidarity with the Christian and constitutional principles that Kirk espoused.
Johnson milled among the mourners for about three hours, gathering about 100 signatures in person before creating an online version of his petition, “Establish a Civics Department at UVU,” on change.org.
That online petition, created Sept. 19, joins dozens of other Kirk-focused petitions on that site, including at least one petition from opponents.
By Janice Hisle
