'We owe it to Charlie': Students at school where Kirk was killed vow to continue his debates

Scott Sperry jotted his name down on a sign-up sheet.

The 22-year-old student at Utah Valley University had watched Charlie Kirk's videos for years and credits the conservative firebrand with being a catalyst in his own political involvement.

Now, on this Thursday afternoon, moments before his political hero was about to speak on campus, Sperry thought it was time for him to pay it forward by joining his school's chapter of Turning Point USA - the organisation Kirk co-founded in 2012 to advocate for conservatism on college campuses.

Moments after taking his front-row seat to see Kirk speak, Sperry watched in shock as a sniper bullet rang out and blood started pouring from Kirk's neck. The images, he said, he still can't shake, but he thinks the loss will only strengthen the movement Kirk inspired him to join.

"When you try to silence a voice like this, they don't go away - you only amplify it," sophomore Scott Sperry said. "There are now going to be a million Charlie Kirks, and I feel like that's the thing that we need to do."

As the immediate shock of the attack calms, some at Utah Valley University said it has been replaced with a deep sense of resolve to continue what Kirk began.

Students with various political ideologies - including those vehemently opposed to Kirk's beliefs - told the BBC they've felt a personal sense of responsibility to ensure healthy debates on college campuses continue.

With branches at more than 850 colleges, Turning Point USA - which Kirk co-founded when he was just 18 - has been credited with helping galvanise younger voters and helping Donald Trump win the White House.

Kirk, who had millions of followers online, would often tour college campuses across the country to debate issues like gender, race, gun control and immigration. His views - and his confrontational style - often drew criticism from the left and attracted protestors to his on-campus events.

At a speaking event at San Francisco State University last spring, one student called him a "rage baiter" while others accused him of using real-life students as "click-bait" - he often posted his heated arguments with liberals online, where the exchanges would go viral.

The killing has thrown Utah Valley University into the centre of America's political divide. Soon after Kirk was shot, some who disagreed with him took to social media to blame Kirk, who has openly supported gun ownership. On the right, pundits and politicians said that conservatives were under attack by the "radical left".

The spotlight has made some students feel the need to step into the ideological fray.

"This is the first political thing we've ever done. We're not political like this," freshman McKinley Shinkle said, while waving signs with his cousin on campus that called Kirk a hero and said they aren't afraid.

"This happening on our campus and then seeing people who are supporting the shooting - it just kind of radicalised us," he added, nothing they're both planning to continue political involvement. "It's changed everything."

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Nestled in a valley surrounded by towering mountains, Utah Valley is the biggest university in the state. It sits on a hill, overlooking a crisp blue lake and a 218-feet-tall granite temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The state, which is also a conservative stronghold, has the largest concentration of Mormons in the US and religion plays a leading role in this community.

Many have expressed confusion about why Kirk was targeted here. Ben Forster, a sophomore, noted how Kirk often stopped in much more liberal-leaning areas where he could have been more of a target.

"This is now where his martyrdom was established," he said, reflecting on his school. "I mean, that is what martyrdom is: He was killed at a debate."

Despite not agreeing with Kirk's stances, Forster attended Wednesday's event in Utah to watch the spectacle and hear the varying viewpoints - something he hopes won't halt at his school and others after the attack.

"I don't care about what his opinions were," he said. "He was exercising his right in a public forum to talk and discuss - and that is a good thing."

The signs of what happened here are everywhere you look near campus.

Law enforcement blocking entrances, makeshift memorials with candles and flowers, signs in apartment windows and on roads declaring Kirk a hero after he was gunned down in front of thousands during one of his signature college campus debates.

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Some students told the BBC they've been leaning on one another in the aftermath - with some discussing what happens next. It's clear part of that future will include a political awakening for some on campus.

Several students made defiant posters, hanging them in their apartment windows with messages reading, "freedom" and "you can't kill the truth". A campaign-style merch display near campus is selling Trump hats and flags. All day and all night, people drive through the traffic circle entrance to campus, beeping their horns - either supporting or in opposition to Kirk.

Jeb Jacobi, a sophomore, has been involved with the school's Turning Point USA chapter for years and was volunteering at Wednesday's event - the first stop on Kirk's planned 15-site "American Comeback Tour" of college campuses.

He got involved after becoming a fan of Kirk's trademark debates on campuses.

"I just liked that he really made people think," he said. "No matter your politics, he would get so many young people involved and intrigued. He provided a path for people to get involved."

"Something like this - it's only going to really help what Charlie was doing," Jacobi added, saying he believes the number of people involved in the school's Turning Point USA chapter will balloon.

One of those new additions: Sperry.

"We're going to lead the way," he said. "We owe it to Charlie."