The Deafening Silence of Ivory Tower Gatekeepers: Where Are the American Deans Now?
By Stephen Heins, The Word Merchant
As I sit here, still reeling from the gut-wrenching news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University, one question burns hotter than the Utah sun: How can the deans of America’s universities—those self-proclaimed guardians of intellectual freedom—remain so utterly, insultingly silent? Charlie wasn’t just a Christian conservative but a relentless champion of open debate on campuses that have increasingly become echo chambers of ideological conformity.
He dragged uncomfortable truths into the light, forcing students and faculty alike to confront and discuss ideas they might otherwise dismiss from the safety of their prejudices . And now, gunned down mid-sentence during his “Prove Me Wrong” tour—an event literally built on inviting challenge—Kirk’s blood stains the very ground where free speech should be sacrosanct. Yet from the marbled halls of Harvard to the sun-baked quads of UCLA, the deans are nowhere to be found. Their collective hush is not just deafening; it’s damning.
Let me be clear: While I’m not naive about American politics, I never really saw behind much of right wing catcalls from the major media about Kirk . However, thanks to the many tributes about him after his assassination, I learned more about his campaign to bring open debate and discussions of conservatism and Christianity to campuses and the youth of America.
After Kirk’s death, there were a smattering of statements trickling out major media, mainly from the epicenter of the tragedy. Utah Valley University’s President Astrid S. Tuminez issued a boilerplate message of “shock and sadness,” urging “peace and resilience.” High Point University’s president followed suit with a vague nod to the horror. Southeastern University’s Dr. Kent Ingle even praised Kirk’s push for “civil political debate.” And St. Bonaventure’s Dr. Jeff Gingerich called for “unity” in the face of “senseless violence.”
These are crumbs, not convictions. Where’s the outrage from the Ivy League? Where’s Yale’s dean decrying the assassination of a man who exposed campus antisemitism and encouraged open debates? Where’s Berkeley’s administration rallying against the chilling effect this murder will have on conservative voices daring to show up?
Even at the University of Chicago, where President Paul Alivisatos rakes in over $2 million a year, there’s radio silence on a faculty member who celebrated Kirk’s death, while the president himself spews unrelated vitriol. Boston University’s students are left begging for a response via an open letter because their president can’t be bothered.
This isn’t oversight; it’s omission by design. Kirk built Turning Point USA into a youthful movement precisely because universities had become fortresses of the left, where speakers like Ben Shapiro or Jordan Peterson need armed escorts to utter a dissenting word, if they are allowed to speak at all. In response, Kirk sued schools for censoring conservative events, won landmark cases affirming First Amendment rights, and turned apathetic Gen Z kids into debaters who could hold their own against tenured radicals.
Remember the 2019 UCLA riot over a TPUSA chapter? Or the deplatforming attempts at Ohio State? Kirk was there, microphone in hand, saying, “Prove me wrong.” He embodied the messy, vital clash of ideas that John Stuart Mill called the lifeblood of truth. And for that, he was assassinated by a 22-year-old ideologue, possibly tied to transnational gangs, in a hit that reeks of the political violence we’ve seen from Trump attempts to the UnitedHealthcare CEO slaying.
So where are the righteous American deans right now? I suspect that they are hiding behind diversity statements and grant proposals. Afraid that condemning this murder—framed by some as “justice” for Kirk’s “fascism”—might alienate their progressive donors and professors and trigger a Twitter storm from the faculty lounge. Or worse, admitting that the toxic rhetoric they’ve tolerated (if not amplified) on campuses—from calls to “punch Nazis” to glorifying “resistance” against conservatives—has real-world consequences.
An associate dean at Middle Tennessee State University got fired for a post that “celebrated” the killing, but that’s reactive damage control, not proactive leadership. The Chronicle of Higher Education calls Kirk’s death a “catastrophe for higher ed,” warning it could further erode trust in universities already hemorrhaging enrollment from families tired of indoctrination over education. Yet the deans? Crickets.
From my vantage point—as someone who’s watched energy friends shouted down at guest lectures, seen the closed political debate skewed to one worldview of fascism, and cheered Kirk’s unapologetic pushback—this silence betrays everything universities claim to stand for. You’re not just failing Charlie; you’re failing the students who deserve forums where ideas duke it out, not safe spaces where discomfort is a hate crime.
While President Trump nailed it: This was a “heinous assassination”: He blew a chance to adopt a diplomatic tone and speak for all Americans. On the other hand, Utah Governor Cox echoes the call for unity against political violence. Even global leaders like the UK’s Keir Starmer have condemned it. But America’s academic elite? They’re treating this like yesterday’s op-ed.
American Deans, step up if you’re reading this (and you should be—your PR teams are probably fact-checking me as we speak). Issue those Freedom of Speech statements not as perfunctory press releases, but as thunderous defenses of the open debate Kirk died defending. Host the vigils, the panel discussions, the unedited forums.
Prove your ivory towers aren’t just gated communities for groupthink. Charlie’s gone, but his fight isn’t. Honor it, or admit you’re part of the problem. The eyes of a grieving American nation—and a generation of students—are on you. Speak now, or forever hold your complicity.
The Deafening Silence of Ivory Tower Gatekeepers: Where Are the American Deans Now?
By Stephen Heins, The Word Merchant
As I sit here, still reeling from the gut-wrenching news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University, one question burns hotter than the Utah sun: How can the deans of America’s universities—those self-proclaimed guardians of intellectual freedom—remain so utterly, insultingly silent? Charlie wasn’t just a Christian conservative but a relentless champion of open debate on campuses that have increasingly become echo chambers of ideological conformity.
He dragged uncomfortable truths into the light, forcing students and faculty alike to confront and discuss ideas they might otherwise dismiss from the safety of their prejudices . And now, gunned down mid-sentence during his “Prove Me Wrong” tour—an event literally built on inviting challenge—Kirk’s blood stains the very ground where free speech should be sacrosanct. Yet from the marbled halls of Harvard to the sun-baked quads of UCLA, the deans are nowhere to be found. Their collective hush is not just deafening; it’s damning.
Let me be clear: While I’m not naive about American politics, I never really saw behind much of right wing catcalls from the major media about Kirk . However, thanks to the many tributes about him after his assassination, I learned more about his campaign to bring open debate and discussions of conservatism and Christianity to campuses and the youth of America.
After Kirk’s death, there were a smattering of statements trickling out major media, mainly from the epicenter of the tragedy. Utah Valley University’s President Astrid S. Tuminez issued a boilerplate message of “shock and sadness,” urging “peace and resilience.” High Point University’s president followed suit with a vague nod to the horror. Southeastern University’s Dr. Kent Ingle even praised Kirk’s push for “civil political debate.” And St. Bonaventure’s Dr. Jeff Gingerich called for “unity” in the face of “senseless violence.”
These are crumbs, not convictions. Where’s the outrage from the Ivy League? Where’s Yale’s dean decrying the assassination of a man who exposed campus antisemitism and encouraged open debates? Where’s Berkeley’s administration rallying against the chilling effect this murder will have on conservative voices daring to show up?
Even at the University of Chicago, where President Paul Alivisatos rakes in over $2 million a year, there’s radio silence on a faculty member who celebrated Kirk’s death, while the president himself spews unrelated vitriol. Boston University’s students are left begging for a response via an open letter because their president can’t be bothered.
This isn’t oversight; it’s omission by design. Kirk built Turning Point USA into a youthful movement precisely because universities had become fortresses of the left, where speakers like Ben Shapiro or Jordan Peterson need armed escorts to utter a dissenting word, if they are allowed to speak at all. In response, Kirk sued schools for censoring conservative events, won landmark cases affirming First Amendment rights, and turned apathetic Gen Z kids into debaters who could hold their own against tenured radicals.
Remember the 2019 UCLA riot over a TPUSA chapter? Or the deplatforming attempts at Ohio State? Kirk was there, microphone in hand, saying, “Prove me wrong.” He embodied the messy, vital clash of ideas that John Stuart Mill called the lifeblood of truth. And for that, he was assassinated by a 22-year-old ideologue, possibly tied to transnational gangs, in a hit that reeks of the political violence we’ve seen from Trump attempts to the UnitedHealthcare CEO slaying.
So where are the righteous American deans right now? I suspect that they are hiding behind diversity statements and grant proposals. Afraid that condemning this murder—framed by some as “justice” for Kirk’s “fascism”—might alienate their progressive donors and professors and trigger a Twitter storm from the faculty lounge. Or worse, admitting that the toxic rhetoric they’ve tolerated (if not amplified) on campuses—from calls to “punch Nazis” to glorifying “resistance” against conservatives—has real-world consequences.
An associate dean at Middle Tennessee State University got fired for a post that “celebrated” the killing, but that’s reactive damage control, not proactive leadership. The Chronicle of Higher Education calls Kirk’s death a “catastrophe for higher ed,” warning it could further erode trust in universities already hemorrhaging enrollment from families tired of indoctrination over education. Yet the deans? Crickets.
From my vantage point—as someone who’s watched energy friends shouted down at guest lectures, seen the closed political debate skewed to one worldview of fascism, and cheered Kirk’s unapologetic pushback—this silence betrays everything universities claim to stand for. You’re not just failing Charlie; you’re failing the students who deserve forums where ideas duke it out, not safe spaces where discomfort is a hate crime.
While President Trump nailed it: This was a “heinous assassination”: He blew a chance to adopt a diplomatic tone and speak for all Americans. On the other hand, Utah Governor Cox echoes the call for unity against political violence. Even global leaders like the UK’s Keir Starmer have condemned it. But America’s academic elite? They’re treating this like yesterday’s op-ed.
American Deans, step up if you’re reading this (and you should be—your PR teams are probably fact-checking me as we speak). Issue those Freedom of Speech statements not as perfunctory press releases, but as thunderous defenses of the open debate Kirk died defending. Host the vigils, the panel discussions, the unedited forums.
Prove your ivory towers aren’t just gated communities for groupthink. Charlie’s gone, but his fight isn’t. Honor it, or admit you’re part of the problem. The eyes of a grieving American nation—and a generation of students—are on you. Speak now, or forever hold your complicity.