- Utah Valley University held its first day of classes on Wednesday, a week after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking on the campus.
- The university has added "care stations" across campus where students can access resources for mental health services.
- UVU President Astrid Tuminez praised community support and emphasized the moment as a chance to build community.
OREM — Kimber Clawson was standing about two rows away from Charlie Kirk when he was shot in the neck and killed by a man on the roof of the nearby Losee Center building on Utah Valley University's campus.
"After I saw him fall, that's when I realized, like, this is reality," Clawson said. "I didn't know if there were going to be other gunshots, so a lot of fear went through my body. Then I immediately felt sick and started gagging. It was definitely a lot of emotions."
On Wednesday, Clawson and the rest of the UVU student body returned to their classes for the first time since the shooting.
Avenues of support
As expected, university leadership has taken numerous steps to make the students' and employees' return to campus as normal as possible, given the severity of the situation.
Kyle Reyes, vice president of institutional advancement and former vice president of student affairs at UVU, said the school has added 24 "care stations" — first implemented during COVID — across campus.
"We feel an extra sense of responsibility that, for this week, as students return and throughout the next couple of weeks, that we have these stations very visible with the resources necessary for students to know that they can get mental health support and other supports on campus," Reyes said.
A day after the shooting, the UVU alumni center was transformed into a hub for students seeking mental health support and to retrieve personal belongings that were left on campus in the wake of the chaos.
Wasatch Behavioral Health and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services partnered with the university to provide mental health resources, alongside the university's student health services, Reyes said.
Starting Thursday, students and faculty will be able to get their belongings and access mental health support at the Sorensen Student Center, room 206, on UVU's main campus.
Reyes said the university has also increased its police presence on campus since the shooting.
Along with students, UVU President Astrid Tuminez said she and other university leaders held a pair of town hall discussions for faculty and staff on Monday that were attended by over 1,000 people to listen and answer questions.
"We are still continuing to solicit questions and feedback and open forums, because it is so important for us to listen to what people are worried about (and) information that they need. And it is a constant back and forth," Tuminez said.
As far as campus closures, the courtyard where Kirk was sitting when he was shot and killed is the only area of campus that remains closed.
"We have done minor repairs there for safety, but also to be sensitive to the current situation," Tuminez said.
'Beauty of community'
Despite the shockwaves being felt across campus, Tuminez said the outpouring of support from campus and beyond has been "incredible."
"I have used the phrase, 'The beauty of community,' that in the midst of tragedy, you can actually see the beauty of community. I have received so many notes from students. Their own strength and their own hope, actually, is a source of strength and hope for me also," Tuminez said. "This is an incredible time. This is very, very difficult, but at the same time, there is so much hope embedded in what we are moving through as a community right now."
Thursday marks Tuminez's seventh anniversary as the president of UVU, a milestone that undoubtedly feels a little different this time around.
"It is a very difficult time, and I really want you to understand that the feelings of hurt are real," Tuminez said.
While it's a challenging time, Tuminez also sees a moment of opportunity to focus on UVU's core values of exceptional care, exceptional accountability, exceptional results and "on the practice of love being stronger than fear."
"I don't mean that at all as just a line of poetry. I mean that as a line of practice. How do we let love be stronger than fear?" she asked.
Reyes added that some university personnel across campus will be donning badges that read, "How can I help?"
"These are not just made for just this moment. We do this every single start of school, and for us, this feels like another restart of school, and we want to make sure that the students know that there's a number of supporters here to help them in whatever way we can," Reyes said.
Persevering through tragedy
Clawson said that it has been "amazing" to see and feel the campus community unite, come together and show love to their peers, despite differences that come with a student body as diverse as UVU's.
Still, the emotions are palpable.
"My first class is over here, kind of where it happened," Clawson said from inside the Fugal Gateway Building, which overlooks where Kirk was speaking. "I went out there and just had a moment of silence by the flag. I thought I'd be OK, but I started crying. Again, like, the community is very strong. I had a woman come hug me, but it's been definitely very emotional. All the feelings coming back from the day, just sad."
Clawson wasn't alone, either. Many students were standing around the area Kirk was speaking at when he was killed, crying, praying and standing in solemn silence, both together and individually.
Clawson said she feels the university is doing "the most that they can" to help students return to a sense of normalcy.
"They're offering a lot of support and like, therapies that are free and resources to go to. They're handing around snacks ... they're being really good. Having school and kind of making us go back to reality, but also being a support system, they've been really good at that," Clawson said.
While rebuilding will take time, Tuminez said the university will continue to promote skills for listening, communication and "dialogue to dispel extremism."
"We will be inviting more people to campus who have really shown courage in dealing with very difficult situations (and) extreme disagreements. I am an immigrant to this country. I came from the Philippines, and one of the things that impressed me about America, coming here as an 18-year-old, was the way that Americans were able to disagree and still continue to respect one another. And I believe that is still with us," Tuminez said.
"A university like UVU can play a significant role in helping our students remind us of our better selves," Tuminez added.
As part of the first week back, the university will host a "Vigil for Unity" on Friday at 4 p.m. at the UCCU Center on campus.
