Utah Valley University Students Return To Campus After It Became Kirk

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 3:07 AM

utah valley university students return to campus after it became kirk

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) On their first day back to campus since the fatal shooting of political commentator Charlie Kirk, students silently gather near Utah Valley University's closed courtyard on Wednesday,... 17, 2025. Orem • Nearly every student who walked by on their way to class at Utah Valley University early Wednesday stopped for a minute at the spot where everything changed. A week ago, political commentator Charlie Kirk had been speaking in this campus courtyard when a single shot rang out, striking and killing him. Now, the place where he spoke is surrounded by a thick metal fence as officers patrol nearby. The loudest sounds were whispers Wednesday, quietly shared below a new, 25-foot tall American flag that hangs over the solemn space.

“I think a lot of people are scared to return,” said Raymond Lopez, a 26-year-old pre-health student at UVU. One week after the tragic killing of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, students have begun returning to the Orem campus and classes have resumed. As campus operations began getting back to normal Wednesday, students described feeling a change in the air from how things were before last week’s shooting. “It feels a little bit surreal, like we know what happened a week ago, and it’s kind of interesting being here on campus. I feel like it’s a little bit more reverent,” said Hannah McCombs, a UVU student studying respiratory therapy. Throughout Wednesday morning, a number of students and other community members gathered in the courtyard where Kirk held his event before being shot and killed last week.

WATCH: Utah Valley University hangs a massive American flag over the area where Charlie Kirk was assassinated in a stunning tribute. pic.twitter.com/AHhPuNSPU5 OREM, Utah (KUTV) — As students prepare to return to class, many have made their way back to Utah Valley University to pay their respects to Charlie Kirk, the victim of a shooting on... While the university is reopening its doors, there remains an emotional heaviness in the air as both students and community members grapple with the tragedy. Hallie Landingin, a UVU sophomore who witnessed the shooting, returned to the campus for the first time on Tuesday since the event. She described her emotional journey back to the site, still carrying the bruises on her leg as a reminder of the chaos she experienced.

"I was on about the second or third row, standing on the corner and edge," Landingin recalled, describing the scene as she witnessed the horror unfold. "I feel like right now these are kind of sacred grounds," she added. MORE | Victim services center created for UVU campus community after Charlie Kirk assassination For many students, the emotional toll of the event is still fresh. Kaitlyn Allen, a senior, shared the difficulty of returning to campus. Fox News Digital spoke to Utah Valley University students as campus reopened following Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

OREM, Utah – While a large American flag drapes where conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated on Utah Valley University's campus, students told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that campus feels "scary" and "somber." "This is somewhere that we go to further our lives, and it could also be the place where it ends our lives," said James Whitney, a UVU student who told Fox News Digital that... According to suspect Tyler Robinson's charging documents, investigators found a "bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel" in a wooded area on the northeast end of campus, but authorities have not confirmed the exact location. One week after Kirk was shot while taking questions from UVU students, classes on the Orem campus resumed Wednesday. As students return to campus to pay their respects to Kirk and go back to class, many are still processing what they describe as an "extremely traumatic" incident. OREM, Utah — Students at Utah Valley University returned to campus on Wednesday as a part of a phased return to school, exactly one week after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed.

The ever-growing memorial for Kirk is one of the first things students see as they return to the classroom. For student Blake Sturgeon and others, a sense of heaviness lingers around campus. “There’s been shootings that have happened around the world, but when it’s my school, it’s kind of weird,” Sturgeon shared. “People are a little bit nervous and unsure," said student Emma Nielsen. "It’s kind of heavy being on campus." School president Astrid Tuminez added that care and human connection are what she’s hoping to bring back into the halls of Utah Valley University.

Students at Utah Valley University (UVU) returned to classes Wednesday, nearly a week after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was tragically shot and killed on campus, leaving the community deeply shaken and thrust into the... The attack has left lasting emotional scars on students, faculty, and staff, raising questions about campus safety and political violence in the United States. Nyasha Paradzai, a UVU junior from Zimbabwe, was standing just a few feet away from Kirk, waiting to engage in a debate when the shooting occurred. “I was literally a few feet away from him and when the tragic shooting happened, I was squarely facing him, so I watched that unfold,” Paradzai told. He described the experience as surreal and horrifying: “In my world, you don’t hear guns. This was very new for me, not only to hear one, but to have it fired at someone right in front of you and have them bleed out in front of you was horrific.”...

“Right now, I’m working to get that horrific image out of my head, because, you know, it’s almost every time you close your eyes, you see it again.” Tiana Lao, another junior who attended the event with her roommate, also recounted the lasting impact of the shooting. “Both me and my friend can still hear the gunshot clearly in our minds. We can’t get it out of our heads. It’s something that we can’t forget,” she said. Returning to campus caused physical reactions of fear and anxiety.

“I thought I was going to be fine until I got there. My hands – I couldn’t stop shaking. And my heart was racing,” Lao said. She added that seeing graphic videos of the shooting online amplified her trauma. UVU, which enrolls approximately 45,000 students, has taken steps to support its community in the aftermath of the tragedy. Counseling services and accommodations for students affected by the shooting are available, including extended deadlines and online learning options.

University President Astrid S. Tuminez stressed the importance of community healing in a letter to students and staff: “Together we will mourn. Together we will heal. And together we will move forward to restore a safe and supportive environment for every member of this campus and community.” Faculty also held a virtual town hall to discuss strategies for helping students process the event. Erik Nystul, director of government internships at UVU, reflected on the courtyard where Kirk was shot, calling it normally “the most peaceful place on campus.” He emphasized the university’s goal of restoring that sense...

“When I arrived on campus, I wished that it was empty, that there was no signs that anything had ever happened there,” he said.

Utah Valley University Students Return To Campus After It Became Kirk

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