BUZZ
Utah Valley University is under fire for selecting a commencement speaker who criticized Charlie Kirk two days after his assassination at the school.
Bestselling author, educator and podcaster Sharon McMahon posted on Instagram a series of quotes from Kirk on Sept. 12, stating: “These aren’t sound bites taken out of context. Millions of people feel they were harmed, and the murder that was horrific and should never have happened does not magically erase what was said or done.”
Her thread argued that Kirk said horrible things about black and LGBTQ people, as well as women, claiming he promulgated “bigoted ideas on a stage that reached tens of millions.”
“It’s important to remember that the incredible tragedy of a public assassination does not erase the harm many experienced from his words, and the ensuing actions his followers took,” she wrote.
A news release from the university touting her selection praised McMahon as “nonpartisan.”
The Utah Valley University Turning Point USA chapter’s president issued a statement condemning the decision to selected McMahon:
Hours immediately after Charlie’s assassination, Sharon McMahon posted a now deleted series of out-of-context quotes from Charlie in an effort to tarnish his name and minimize the tragedy, rather than offering condolences or condemning political violence.
While universities should welcome diverse viewpoints, platforming someone who treated a historic and tragic political assassination not as a moment to grieve but as an opportunity to create content is tone-deaf and disrespectful to those still affected, especially on this campus.
There are countless better alternatives, and the fact that the university is choosing McMahon is entirely disappointing to all of us still reeling from his loss. I couldn’t be more disappointed in this university for such a hurtful and callous decision.
Utah Valley University’s media relations team did not respond to a request Friday for comment from The College Fix.
UVU spokesperson Sharon Turner told the Deseret News, “The responses to her speaking for commencement have been overwhelmingly positive,” and that McMahon spoke on campus previously and was “well-received.”
McMahon deleted her post, but her “thread remains online, and others reposted it to rebut McMahon’s claims, with one critic calling her post ‘vile,'” the newspaper reported.
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