Point Loma Nazarene University’s Students for Life club hosted a memorial service on campus Tuesday night for Charlie Kirk, a Conservative activist who was assassinated last month. The event brought in the state senator, two local pastors and alumni to reflect on Kirk’s life. Students who went said the event was encouraging, while others who chose not to attend, said it was a disservice to not have the same recognition for other recent political deaths.
The event, which took place in the Arc at 7 p.m., opened with a video montage of Kirk, then Sarah Shaw, president of the Students for Life club, introduced the speakers and opened the memorial in prayer, with worship to follow. The guest speakers included Jim Garlow, a best-selling author and former pastor of Skyline Church; Lidiya Harvey, a 2014 PLNU alumna; Gary Cass, a pastor at Christ Community Reformed Church; State Senator Brian Jones; and Noah Shaw, a 2024 PLNU alumnus.
Shaw, a third-year psychology major, said she contacted Connor Mathisen, director of community life, on Sept. 19 about wanting to host a memorial service in honor of Kirk’s national day of remembrance, which President Donald Trump proclaimed to be on Kirk’s birthday.
Nearly 100 people were in attendance, with “Never Surrender” and “Turning Point USA” posters next to each seat. Students who went said the event was important to show support for those who agreed with Kirk’s beliefs and to be courageous in their faith. For those who chose not to go, they said that it was offensive to have on campus, where there are people who disagree with Kirk’s rhetoric and approach.
During their reflections, the speakers often used language like “We are Charlie Kirk,” symbolizing that Christians should be bold in their faith. While the event was to celebrate Kirk’s life, it also served as an opportunity to educate students on significant figures in the Bible, who were considered “martyrs for the faith,” Garlow said. The overall message was to live in opposition of modern culture and answer Christ’s call to action, referencing Isaiah 6:8 in the Bible.
“It’s hard to be Charlie, but we can all be Charlie,” Jones said during his reflection.
Jerome Brown, a fourth-year business administration major and president of PLNU’s Student Veterans of America (SVA) chapter, attended the first memorial the Students for Life club hosted on Sept. 14, which was open to only club members. He said he hoped this event, which was open to the whole university, would bring others to follow in Kirk’s footsteps.
“We wanted to go to celebrate not just what Charlie Kirk had done, but celebrate that Charlie Kirk has entered the kingdom of heaven,” Brown said.
Ben Wodarczyk, a fourth-year music and political science double major, chose not to attend the memorial because of his disagreement with Kirk’s beliefs.
“It was really hard watching all of the people treating him like he was some sort of hero, when really he just was a bully,” Wodarczyk said.
Caden Dougherty, outreach coordinator for PLNU’s School of Education, said that he attended the memorial because he wanted the conversation on Kirk’s life and what he stood for to continue.
“I want to mourn the man who’s martyred for this faith,” he said. “I want to fellowship and worship with like-minded believers. … We were a country built on free speech and the right to have those discussions, have those disagreements.”
Seamus Pilette, a third-year philosophy and business administration double major, said he didn’t go to the memorial because he believed Kirk spread hurtful division and rhetoric in the country.
“Having someone like that on campus, who’s not affiliated with our university in any way, is harmful not just to the Christian mission of education, but people live here,” he said, “and to bring someone like that into the literal home of people without their consent is baffling to me.”
He also said that he thought it wasn’t right to have a memorial for Kirk and not one for the PLNU student who passed this summer, Mason Suboh-Meuret.
Harvey, one of the guest speakers, told The Point she felt the Holy Spirit throughout the memorial.
She said multiple students still felt a “gaping-hole” after Kirk’s assasination, so having a space for them and faculty to worship and read the Bible was uplifting.
“When I was driving [to the memorial], I was praying that the Holy Spirit uses me, and I pray that it was done, and I trust that God heard my prayers,” Harvey said.
She said a gathering like the event is what Kirk would’ve wanted.
“Because he said, ‘I want to be remembered for my courage, for my faith’,” Harvey said. “And if we can have more gatherings like this where we encourage people to be courageous for Christ, and I think that’s the most important thing we can do.”
Isabella Castaneda, a second-year marketing major and Students for Life club’s marketer, said that she was disappointed people outside of PLNU couldn’t come due to the Associated Student Body’s protocol.
“[It] kind of sucks, because I did want to invite my family, or alumni did want to perform and worship and come to the event — they just couldn’t,” Castaneda said.
The guest speakers were allowed to bring two guests, but they were required to be close family members, according to Shaw.
Mathisen, who played a role in approving the event, said that club events open to the university must be student-led and sponsored, with a strict protocol on who can attend outside of the university.
Typically, guest speakers aren’t allowed to bring additional guests due to safety reasons and that events are exclusive to active PLNU students, faculty and staff; however, Mathisen said he and the co-curricular education committee, the group who also reviewed Shaw’s proposal, made an exception.
He also said the club did a good job in organizing the memorial and that it was important for students to have this opportunity.
“In the same process as the first vigil, as well as the listening circles, are to provide space for students to be able to gather together and process the events that have been happening,” Mathisen said. “So it was important for us to be able to provide a space for students that had a desire to gather together.”
Shaw said while there were some struggles to make the event happen to her complete satisfaction, it still exceeded her expectations, as she didn’t think many would attend.
“It was honestly so much more than I could’ve hoped for, and I think that most of that was just God moving through it,” she said. “I hope it shows students that they can be bold as well, and speak their mind and stand up for their beliefs.”
Olivia Roberts 
Sydney Brammer