Two weeks before his planned visit to the College, prominent right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.
The Dartmouth Political Union — a nonpartisan, student-run organization that aims to foster “open discourse,” according to its website — had invited Kirk to debate left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker at Dartmouth on Sept. 25 in a sold-out event titled “The Politics of Youth.”
College spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote in an email statement that the DPU’s scheduled debate between Kirk and Piker was “rooted” in the College’s “principles” about political discourse.
“At Dartmouth, we believe deeply that free expression and respectful debate are essential to academic life,” she wrote.
In a follow-up statement about the potential ramifications of Kirk’s death for future events at Dartmouth featuring high-profile figures, Barnello wrote that the College “[does not] discuss specific security measures for safety reasons” but is “reviewing [its] security processes.”
“We have processes in place to review logistics and safety for each event and, in light of recent events, are reviewing our security processes to ensure they are coordinated to maximize safety precautions,” she wrote.
Piker will no longer speak at Dartmouth on Sept. 25, DPU president Mac Mahoney ’26 said in an interview with The Dartmouth. Mahoney added that the group is “working towards” several upcoming events on political violence in America. At the organization’s weekly meeting on Sept. 18, discussion will focus on the “rise in threats and increasing tensions between the parties in the country,” he said. On Sept. 25, the DPU will host a discussion to “provide students an opportunity to reflect on the rise of political violence in the United States,” though specific details are still being finalized.
Kirk and Turning Point USA, the organization he co-founded in 2012, gained notoriety over the past decade for his frequent and controversial appearances on college campuses to discuss conservative politics. Kirk had been speaking at Utah Valley University in a “Prove Me Wrong Table” as part of Turning Point USA’s “The American Comeback Tour,” a series of 15 speaking events at universities across the country, when he was shot. His appearance there had been met with opposition: an online petition with 940 signatures called for UVU administrators to “re-evaluate … the decision to allow Charlie Kirk to speak.”
Colin Jung ’28, vice president of the Dartmouth chapter of Turning Point USA, said in an interview that he believed Kirk held positions “shared by a vast swath of the population in this country” and “did a great deal to talk about political issues with college students.”
“He was somebody who represented the views of a vast and substantial part of people in this country, and he did it in a civil way,” Jung said. “He never broke from that.”
Mahoney wrote in a statement to The Dartmouth that the DPU was “horrified and heartbroken” by Kirk’s death. He urged the importance “now, more than ever” of “see[ing] the humanity in those across the aisle.”
“Political violence will never be the answer to political disagreement,” Mahoney continued. “When we disagree, we must engage in discourse.”
Lucy Vitali ’26, executive director of the Dartmouth Democrats, called Kirk’s death a “horrific display of political violence,” even though she did not “personally agree” with his political beliefs. She expressed concern about the free speech climate in the United States today.
“I have felt a palpable fear of expressing political beliefs grow among my friends and peers over the past year,” Vitali said. “I hope that in the wake of this tragedy, Americans from across the political spectrum can come together to decrease polarization and increase empathy for those with whom they disagree.”
Jung said he believed it was important to “caution everybody” that Kirk’s death was more than its “political implications.”
“He was a human being with a life; he was newly married, and he had two kids, and … his children will grow up not knowing where their father is,” Jung said. “There’s a real human cost to violence.”
Annabelle Zhang '27 is a reporter and editor from New Jersey. In the classroom, she studies Geography and Government modified with Philosophy and Economics. She enjoys creating recipes, solving puzzles and listening to music.
