Sept. 10, 2025, marked a day that UVU students will never forget. As thousands of people were evacuated off campus, the world exploded with the news of Charlie Kirk’s shooting. The nation was gripped by this story. Meanwhile, the students of UVU were wondering how life was to go on. No one was asking how the nearly 47,000 students at UVU were feeling? So we did.
We sat down with a variety of students and asked them about how they are feeling and how returning to campus has been. We wanted their voices to be heard.
A freshman student majoring in graphic design described how emotional it felt for her to walk on campus after the shooting. Although she wouldn’t describe herself as a religious person, she described that emotion as spiritual.
Sarah Hall, an Earth Science major, described her experience on Sept. 10. She was on campus, but not at the event. When the gunshot was fired, she was able to help people find secure locations and evacuate UVU. What she wanted everyone on campus to know is to “be considerate of other experiences. There is no right way to mourn.” Although Hall doesn’t support Kirk’s message, she expressed her condolences for his family.
One faculty member, Valerie Atkisson DeMurah, a teacher of 2D and watercolor, described her anxiety as a teacher. She wondered how her students were going to react and tried to create a safe classroom experience. She said that the first class after the shooting was hard, but as time has passed, she and her students have felt more at-ease.
Two freshmen students expressed their fear of walking onto campus and what the future holds for students. One majoring in aviation shared: “You come to a new school, and you’re all out on your own. And then something like that happens to you in the first month that you’re new here. So, I mean, it was terrifying. At the time when it happened, we didn’t really know what was going on. Just seeing the mass hysteria of people running, it was just something I don’t think I’ll forget.”
Two students criticized the school’s announcements in the days following the incident. The UVU administration sent out several emails to all of the students providing information and statements about the event, but the students expressed that these emails were not making clear enough statements. They wanted the university to take a bolder political stance and make it clear where they stood on the event. In contrast, several students expressed that they found these emails informative and helpful.
A sophomore in computer science shared his beliefs when he described his anger over the event. He said: “Politics aside, violence is never the answer.” He also shared that he found the additional security and the police forces around campus awkward, making him feel insecure.
UVU’s motto is: A place for you. Even with the many concerns and complaints, several students expressed the sentiment that to heal as a student body, we need to be unified, so that UVU can still be a place for everyone.
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