Boston University (BU) must provide better security for conservative students in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, College Republicans from the university wrote in a Sept. 10 letter to the institution’s president, Dr. Melissa L. Gilliam.
Kirk, a prominent conservative commentator, was killed on Sept. 10 while engaging in a campus debate event at Utah Valley University.
BU College Republicans wrote that the assassination “shocked the nation and struck at the principle [Kirk] championed most: free speech, the cornerstone of any democracy.”
They said conservative students studying at BU have long been marginalized and silenced through social intimidation, hostility, and academic penalties.
“Many of our members feel they cannot openly affiliate with the College Republicans, and those who do are often met with slurs and false labels,” the letter reads. “Rather than fostering intellectual diversity, the university has allowed a single ideological perspective to dominate, leaving students of differing opinion isolated.
“The celebration of Mr. Kirk’s death on platforms like YikYak and Reddit, including by individuals within the BU community, reveals how dangerous this environment has become.”
Calls to commit violence against individuals just because they hold differing opinions are not only hateful, but also intolerable in a university, the letter reads.
College Republicans blamed the lack of institutional response on these matters as emboldening such rhetoric, leading to erosion of trust in the university’s commitment to protecting all its students.
The letter asked the university for three assurances: that it would hold individuals who incite or glorify violence accountable, provide appropriate security for events conducted by College Republicans, and safeguard classrooms as spaces for genuine debate, not indoctrination.
BU did not respond to a request for comment.
Kirk, one of the most influential conservative speakers in the United States, was speaking about gun violence in the country when he was shot on Sept. 10.
On Sept. 12, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a news conference that the suspect in Kirk’s assassination had been caught. The suspect, Tyler Robinson from Washington, Utah, is believed to have acted alone, he said, noting that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
“Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson who stated that Robinson had become more political in recent years,” Cox said.
“The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to Sept. 10, and in that conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming [to Utah Valley University]. They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had.”
Free Speech in Universities
According to a Dec. 12 survey by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a survey of 6,269 faculty members at 55 major colleges and universities found that 47 percent of conservative staff reported feeling unable to voice their opinions on campuses because of concerns about how others might react to their statements.
In contrast, only 19 percent of liberal faculty members held such reservations, it found.
FIRE’s 2026 College Free Speech Rankings, published on Sept. 9, gave U.S. colleges an F grade for poor free speech climate.
“This year, students largely opposed allowing any controversial campus speaker, no matter that speaker’s politics,” FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff said.
“Rather than hearing out and then responding to an ideological opponent, both liberal and conservative college students are retreating from the encounter entirely. This will only harm students’ ability to think critically and create rifts between them. We must champion free speech on campus as a remedy to our culture’s deep polarization.”
Meanwhile, authorities are taking action against individuals deemed to have written celebratory messages after Kirk’s assassination.
A Secret Service agent was placed on leave because of his comments on the assassination.
“If you are mourning this guy … delete me,” he wrote on Facebook about Kirk’s death.
The Florida Department of Education announced on Sept. 11 that it would look into the issue of public school teachers who celebrated or justified Kirk’s assassination on social media.
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