School tried to ban phones and politics, but Kirk’s assassination broke through
Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday at Utah Valley University, video footage of the incident spread rapidly, causing shockwaves in classrooms across the country. All teens, regardless of their political views, were familiar with Kirk. Some students viewed the video during class. Upon leaving school, others took out their phones and repeatedly watched the videos. Several teachers paused their lessons to address the tragic news. In high school classes in Spanish Fork, Utah, news spread rapidly Wednesday as students became aware of the shooting and started to wonder about Kirk’s chances of survival. A cellphone ban left many students unaware of Kirk’s fate until the final bell, delaying difficult discussions in class until the next day.
“By the end of the day, I was worn out,” said English teacher Andrew Apsley. He discussed the shooting with all four of his classes on Thursday at Landmark High School, situated about 15 miles south of UVU. In the current political climate and with new cellphone bans, schools are working to sideline social media and controversial topics, insisting that classes should focus on core academics. Kirk’s shooting disrupted all operations. Graphic footage of Kirk’s shooting on the Utah college campus was rapidly disseminated online, captured by cellphones from various angles. The videos, in both slow motion and real-time, provide a direct view of Kirk being shot, his body recoiling as blood pours from his neck. The videos were easily found on X, TikTok, and Instagram. Many teenagers express feelings of trauma stemming from their experiences. They could not escape the videos circulating on their social media feeds or being shared by friends and classmates. Some teens issued warnings against clicking on the Kirk videos, expressing a desire for trigger warnings alongside the visuals.
Apsley’s 19-year-old child received a gruesome video of Kirk’s death from a friend. “His child has autism and struggles with processing emotions, making the video ‘pretty traumatic,'” Apsley stated. The incident provided a significant lesson for Apsley’s students. “I know we want to be first.” “I know we want to be the one to share the information that other people rely on,” Apsley recalled telling his classes. “However, not everyone is ready to confront something as graphic and violent as that.” Students connected from all corners, highlighting the global influence of social media.
In Canada, Aidan Groves was in a college writing class when he saw a Reddit headline reporting that Kirk had been shot. Despite differing political views, Groves, a student at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary, stated, “my heart sank, and I was immediately on edge.” He quickly moved through the comments, consumed by horror and dread. He exited his classroom to view the video. Groves, 19, grew up watching his father interact with video games that showcased violent imagery, but he found himself drawn to the video’s immediacy and the audience’s passionate reactions. “I’ve never seen anybody die, and immediately everybody in this crowd had just witnessed that,” he said. When Groves returned to class 10 minutes later, the atmosphere was filled with distraction from the news of the shooting. Students exchanged their phones. Some of his classmates were surprised. Critics of Kirk’s views responded with humor. The professor continued with his lesson regardless of the circumstances.
A similar scenario occurred in a viral video from a classroom at the University of North Texas, where a student filmed her classmates watching the video on tablets and cell phones passed around the room. Some students show amused expressions, while the student recording the video scolds those who are downplaying the situation. “Why are we celebrating when someone is shot? No matter what political beliefs are, we should not be cheering that someone got shot,” the student tells her classmates. A spokeswoman for the University of North Texas confirmed that the video was recorded in one of its classrooms. Regardless of their admiration for Kirk, teenagers worldwide recognized him through his social media presence. A right-wing activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, Kirk effectively utilized social videos to showcase his sharp responses to liberal inquiries, enhancing his visibility at college speaking events and online, particularly among young men. Richie Trovao, a teenager from San Francisco, expressed that while he didn’t concur with all of Kirk’s ideas, he respected how the activist “really stood on his beliefs.” Trovao, 17, had considered becoming politically active, but the assassination has made him reconsider. He worries that sharing his views could put his safety at risk.
“I never thought I would see something like that happen to someone who’s just basically an influencer,” Trovao remarked. Particularly alarming: Some social media comments seemed to celebrate Kirk’s death. Connecticut high school senior Prakhar Vatsa stated, “Reaction to the video has highlighted the political divide and polarisation that exists among American youth.” The primary focus of conversation among classmates in his AP Government class after Kirk’s death was that. Vatsa, 17, raised in an era of easy access to violent imagery, remarked that he wasn’t significantly affected when he came across the video while scrolling through social media, as he isn’t particularly sensitive to gore. “It was a bit traumatising, but I’ve seen worse,” he stated.
