Finding courage in the midst of exhaustion and grief can be a monumental challenge\u2014especially when confronted with acts of incomprehensible cruelty.<\/p>\n
The reactions of some left-leaning students to Wednesday\u2019s assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk have sparked widespread outrage, revealing the depths of malice that can surface in such moments.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, a student at North Texas University, who goes by the TikTok handle \u201cmarycatherine_0,\u201d shared a video recounting her classmates\u2019 disturbing response to Kirk\u2019s death. She alleged that some even mocked his fatherless young children\u2014a moment that pushed her to speak out.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of my friends think I should share my story,\u201d the student said in the video.<\/p>\n
She explained that she arrived ten minutes early to her Quantitative Methods class. Before the lecture began, a female student brought up Kirk\u2019s shooting to another student who hadn\u2019t heard of him, using standard leftist epithets to slander the conservative activist\u2014calling him racist, homophobic, and worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just like, \u2018whatever.\u2019 I don\u2019t have the energy to intervene,\u201d \u201cmarycatherine_0\u201d recalled. \u201cOr the courage.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the situation escalated. The female student began showing the video of Kirk\u2019s shooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone starts clapping and cheering,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re like, \u2018Oh my gosh, Charlie Kirk, he\u2019s gonna die. I can\u2019t wait. This is the best day ever.\u2019 They said things like, \u2018This needs to happen to Trump,\u2019 and started naming others.\u201d<\/p>\n
The students then reached a shocking low.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when I stood up,\u201d she continued. \u201cShe said, \u2018Yeah, and I\u2019m pretty sure he has a family and two little girls. This is awesome. They\u2019re gonna grow up without a dad.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The sheer cruelty of that statement is hard to overstate.<\/p>\n
The student confronted her classmates, telling them no one deserves such treatment, regardless of their political beliefs. Instead of support, she said, \u201cthe whole class was just reaming me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The professor, who had witnessed the incident, approached her\u2014not the students\u2014and suggested, laughingly, \u201cY\u2019all should probably take this outside.\u201d<\/p>\n
She then approached the dean of students and learned of Kirk\u2019s death. As is often the case, the dean took no action. The dean redirected her to the head of the psychology department, a familiar chain-of-command in academia that often favors faculty over students.<\/p>\n
At that point, she said, she already understood how the situation would unfold. A conservative student confronting faculty would rarely be supported by a department chair.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most poignant moment came when she was asked what she wanted out of the confrontation. She simply requested that her class absence be removed from her record.<\/p>\n
The innocence of that request is striking. On one hand, she wanted to follow the rules and receive the education she paid for. On the other, she was grappling with the fact that those enforcing the rules often behave with cowardice or malice.<\/p>\n
She also posted a short video showing part of her confrontation before class, which readers can view below.<\/p>\n
Conservative commentators argue that this incident underscores the need to overhaul the university system, including personnel and programs, to root out leftist ideological influence.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, prayers and support are urged for students like her, who have faced such hostility.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last 24 hours has changed me. I\u2019m sick to my stomach. The amount of hate emanating from these people is something I\u2019ve never seen before. Our country is sick. America is sick. Our education system is a cancer,\u201d conservative activist Scott Presler wrote Thursday on X.<\/p>\n
\nThe last 24 hours has changed me.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sick to my stomach.<\/p>\n
The amount of hate emanating from these people is something I\u2019ve never seen before.<\/p>\n
Our country is sick. America is sick.<\/p>\n
Our education system is a cancer.<\/p>\n