Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana released a statement this week a rebuking staffer who had cheered the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Suzanne Swierc, the director of health promotion and advocacy at Ball State, said, “Let me be clear: if you think Charlie Kirk was a wonderful person, we can’t be friends. His death is a tragedy, and I can and do feel for his wife and children.”
She continued:
Charlie Kirk’s death is a reflection of the violence, fear, and hatred he sowed. It does not excuse his death, AND it’s a sad truth. The shooting is a tragedy, and I can and do feel for a college campus experiencing an active shooter situation. The deaths of Melissa and Mark Hortman, the children shot and killed in Minneapolis last month, and the children shot in Colorado today are all tragedies that also deserve your attention. Charlie Kirk excused the deaths of children in the name of the Second Amendment.
Hoosier Republicans found the commentary repulsive.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita wrote in a statement, “What a vile comment. So many hateful people are exposing themselves. Now is the time to oppose political violence — not justify it. Comments like these are outrageous and should make people question someone’s ability to be in a leadership position.”
Rokita shared an “Eyes on Education” portal that would allow Hoosiers to report educators and administrators who “celebrate” the assassination.
Ball State said in a response to the posts, “Both posts were on the employees’ personal accounts, and the posts do not reflect the culture on our campus nor the enduring values of the university.”
“The administration is gathering additional information about the posts in order to determine what discipline, if any, is appropriate and permissible under the First Amendment to the Constitution.”
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