Utah Valley University will cancel classes Thursday, closing its Orem campus on the one-year anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which took place there on September 10, 2025.
The university’s administration said the closure is meant to give students, staff and faculty “time and space time for reflection,” according to a report from the Salt Lake Tribune.
Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded, is returning to campus that day to hold a memorial event called the “Freedom Built to Last Memorial.” It will take place at the UCCU Center on UVU’s campus at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and will be livestreamed on the organization’s social media pages. Pre-registration for attendees is available online.
In a statement, Turning Point USA said the gathering “will honor Charlie as a faith-filled husband, father, and defender of free speech with a memorial that serves as a deliberate act of remembrance and a call for students and supporters to continue his life’s work.” The organization also invited people around the country to mark the moment on social media with the message that “Charlie’s seat continues to be filled by a new generation of faith-filled believers.”
Student Group Plans Protest
UVU’s Students for a Democratic Society club is planning to protest shortly before the memorial begins Thursday. In an open letter, the group said the university is planning to “hand over our campus” to Turning Point USA and accused UVU President Jon Anderson of having “aligned himself with the interests” of the organization by allowing it to hold the event on the anniversary of Kirk’s death.
The group also described Turning Point USA as “openly racist and antagonistic” and said the organization was using “a narrative of victimhood” in hosting the memorial. The students further claimed they “will be further negatively affected by allowing TPUSA to occupy our campus on that day.”
Anderson addressed the criticism in a public statement, saying the university is not sponsoring the memorial itself.
“As an institution, it’s important that we stay apolitical, that we don’t jump in the fray,” Anderson said. “Any entity could’ve used that space, and they chose to have that day. And we allowed them to do that.”
Anderson said the school will provide security for the event given its size and the potential for controversy.
Background
UVU closed its campus for four days last year after Kirk was fatally shot there on September 10, 2025. Last week, Judge Tony Graf ruled that Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old man accused of killing Kirk, can stand trial on aggravated murder and six other charges. Robinson could face the death penalty if convicted and is scheduled to appear in court again on October 23, when a trial date is expected to be set.
