Utah Valley University chooses controversial commencement speaker in wake of Charlie Kirk death

Utah Valley University sparked backlash recently after selecting author and educator Sharon McMahon as its commencement speaker later this month in the wake of a questionable social media post related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated at the four-year institution in Orem, Utah, last September. 

In the days following Kirk's assassination, McMahon acknowledged the "horrific" murder "should never have happened," but said it did not mean that Kirk's comments from when he was alive are "erased." 

"Millions of people feel they were harmed," McMahon said in a since-deleted post on X. "To many Americans, especially if you are Black, LGBTQ or Muslim, Charlie Kirk was not a person who simply engaged in good-faith debates on college campuses."

The school announced McMahon's speech late last month, touting her as "America's government teacher," who shows that "education can inform, inspire, and instigate courageous action." 

Caleb Chilcutt, Turning Point USA chapter president at Utah Valley University, told Fox News on Monday that the school booking McMahon was a "slap to the face" given her social media post.

"They could have brought any other speaker," Chilcutt said. "If they liked Charlie, didn't like Charlie — I honestly don't really care. But the fact they brought someone who was so critical, literally days after the assassination on my campus, is just shameful for me."

Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee also slammed the move Saturday, stating that the left would never have allowed it if the situation were reversed and claimed the school would never have selected McMahon as its speaker if she was conservative. 

"What if Charlie Kirk had been a beloved figure on the left, rather than among conservatives?" Lee said on X. "What if Sharon McMahon were a conservative—one who had defamed Charlie Kirk immediately after his horrific assassination at UVU?

"Would UVU have scheduled her to speak at commencement? Not in a million years," he continued. "Not in ten million years. So why does UVU think this is okay? It’s not."

The commencement is scheduled for April 29 and McMahon will also be awarded an honorary doctorate of education.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.