DALLAS, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is encouraging many to look to change the current rhetoric among those with different views. One local university's Republican Club is honoring Kirk by doing just that: holding an open discussion.
Misericordia University Young Republicans hosted an open discussion at the campus dining hall on Friday.
The forum, coming just days after Kirk's assassination, made discussions like these popular in recent years. The assassination hit home for students who were inspired by his message.
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"I don't really know any true assassinations in my lifetime that have been so impactful as the one that happened on the 10th. Yesterday was very hard for me. I had a brain fog. I was in and out of meetings all day. Charlie meant a lot to us," Ryan DeBellis, vice president of the Misericordia University Young Republicans, said."It's hard because, you know, you're supposed to be paying attention to your studies, and then, you know, when the kid sitting next to you says, 'Charlie Kirk has been shot.' You're kind of taken back, and you know, I took a brief pause and I just kind of looked down and was like 'Oh my gosh, this is truly awful,'" president of the club, Tyler Stuck, told 28/22 News.
The club encourages discussions between people with differing viewpoints.
"At the end of the day, you know, we have a formal discussion and, you know, maybe you prove me wrong. Okay, well then, I'm going to think about your idea, and then you may look at it from a different perspective. When that's gone, you know, that's the cornerstone of our country, you know that free speech, that first amendment right," Stuck added.
"As soon as you stop talking and having conversations, that's when civil war happens. Whether you're the left wing or the right wing, we need to come together and we need to speak and have open dialect in order to see each other's side and see each other's viewpoints," DeBellis said.
The university is also taking safety precautions with the club and providing counseling to those who saw the video of the assassination.
