BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — With the killing of conservative advocate Charlie Kirk, it's another case of political violence in the country.
I'm Madi Vollmer. I went out to California State University, Bakersfield, to learn how the students are feeling.
Once again, political violence breaks out — this time at Utah Valley University in Orem. Conservative advocate Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while delivering a speech on stage in front of thousands. Kirk later died at a hospital.
I visited Cal State Bakersfield to speak with students — and many shared the same sentiment: no matter your political beliefs, violence is never the answer.
Joseph Ruesga is a Sophomore at CSUB, who is a ag business major and he says, "At first, ya know, it was crazy — because despite everyone coming from different political beliefs and backgrounds, there's always gonna be those differences.But it was sad to see people almost celebrating his passing. At the end of the day, despite what you believe — he was just a guy."
Students also said it's scary to know that something like this could happen on a college campus. Others shared that college should be a space for dialogue and debate — not a place where people fear being targeted for their views.
Sebastian Richardson is a Senior at CSUB, studying theater, "It's just kind of sad because it was such a public thing. And yeah — it happened on a college campus, and it feels like that could happen anywhere."
Elizabeth Galeano is a Freshman studying business and she says, "It kind of scared me too, because I was like — wow, someone who speaks truth got killed for speaking truth. It was devastating."
I also spoke with 23ABC political analyst Ian Anderson to understand what this means for freedom of speech. "In all honesty, it's normal for different political ideologies to disagree — and we should never think that disagreement or discussion is a bad thing.But we should never, ever get to a point where violence is the answer — because it doesn't solve anything." He said.
A growing fear is that political violence in the country is becoming the new normal.
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