Hi Jags! Welcome back to the CHAT Newspaper. The student body here at Pines Charter have been prepping themselves for their new routines as they enter the 2025-26 school year. However, as Jaguars get settled into this routine, the world around them is unraveling.
On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk, known for being a conservative activist, was assassinated. Kirk was visiting Utah Valley University to kick off “The American Comeback Tour” where he lost his life almost immediately.
Almost 3,000 people witnessed this shot up close as the assassin took Kirk’s life from almost 200 yards away. The fear and danger that spread campus wide spread throughout the world as a graphic video of the murder was rapidly shared.
The recent event of Kirk’s killing has evoked outrage from his supporters while also opening up a discussion around how divided the U.S has become from a political standpoint. Students have been posting political posters on their social media, advocating for more regulations on firearms while also citing that Kirk, who was a firm supporter of the right to bear arms, passed away at the hands of a firearm.
There was immediately a manhunt for the man behind this very precise and public killing. FBI Director Kash Patel made his absolute goal to search day and night. It wasn’t until September 12th when a young man turned himself in for the murder of Charlie Kirk. The young man’s family convinced him to turn himself in, in which details about the murder were released.
On the bullets, there were engraved messages that read “If you’re reading this, you’re gay LMAO” or “Hey Fascist, CATCH!” These engravings apparently held no meaning, but still inflicted uncomfortable feelings on the audience.
Charlie Kirk’s career consistently was characterized as controversial especially with having a unique stance on the conservative perspectives. However, a specific quote of Kirk’s is going viral amid his death. Just hours after his assasination, a clip of his resurfaced from 2023 regarding his stance on gun violence. Kirk believed that “It’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment.”
This statement has caused uproar as he now unfortunately falls victim to gun violence. Along with this loaded statement, concern arises around the world, bringing up the problem of double standards. Republicans and supporters of Kirk’s sprung into action to defend and mourn an assasination and raised the question of why people weren’t able to put their political bias aside to acknowledge this death was wrong? This was then responded with a question right back at them: where was the empathy and rise to action when children are getting shot in their classrooms almost weekly? Where was the empathy when innocent families were getting torn apart or bombed?
On the other end, conservatives call Kirk a hero. Icon. Legend. His wife Erika Kirk promises to continue his work and says “…you have no idea what you have unleashed.” As she is now a widow with two young children, Mrs. Kirk is not letting that define her, now stepping into the shoes of her late husband with the announcement of the continuation of The American Comeback Tour this fall.
As the days go by and the anniversary of 9/11 was just commemorated, we as Americans need to think about the future of our nation. With Kirk’s assasination happening a day before the ceremony, it forced us to take a step back. But, at what cost? How did we go from being attacked by foreign countries to now attacking one another? It is up to us now if we are going to become the generation to stop this cycle of violence or keep turning a blind eye to it.
