Prayer Vigil held at UCO in Memorial of Charlie Kirk
Cameron Estes
After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the University of Central Oklahoma’s Turning Point USA chapter, a conservative-led non-profit organization founded by Kirk, held a prayer vigil for him on Sept. 16.
The service started at 7:30 p.m. outside Old North with a crowd of around 50 to 60 people. Students and community members of all ages attended the service.
“I know we’re not one of the young kids anymore,” said Mike Lennon, a community member there with his wife.
Lennon continued, “I just couldn’t take what happened, and we need to do something about it so we are here.”
UCO’s Turning Point USA’s President Will Vaughn and Vice President Tessa Bedford both spoke about Charlie and the legacy that he left behind. After the service was over, both Will and Tessa offered to continue a conversation, saying that if anyone wanted to talk about anything or if anyone wanted to pray, they would be happy to do so.
Vaughn, who has been a member of UCO’s Turning Point USA chapter since 2022, said he wanted people to take away a feeling of hope from the service.
“I hope to inspire everyone else in the community and everyone else at this school, we’re ready to fight Charlie’s fight even harder,” said Vaughn
Sam Coleman and Evan Goodner, who are students at UCO, came to voice their own thoughts on the matter.
Coleman said, “There are a lot of voices that felt belittled, a lot of people that felt like they were disrespected by Charlie Kirk and what he stands for.”
Goodner shared, “You have this man, who from my perspective only preached hate to me and my friends.”
Cooper Anderson, a student and member of UCOs Turning Point USA, said, “This is what Charlie Kirk wanted.”
“To be able to stand around and have that conversation and respect those beliefs, whether you believe in them or not. Just have that conversation and don’t resort to violence,” Cooper added.
Turning Point USA has plans to continue to be present here on campus. There will be a chapter meeting on Sept. 24, in The Nigh. To stay up to date with what’s happening here on campus with Turning Point, visit @tpusa_uco_ on Instagram for information on upcoming events.