by Five Republican senators introduced a bill to give the University of Minnesota Board of Regents $25,000 to create and place a statue of Charlie Kirk on the UMN campus.
Kirk was the leader and CEO of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school and college campuses. He was scheduled to speak at the University of Minnesota a week after he was shot and killed at an event in Utah.
If the bill is passed, the UMN Board of Regents would determine where the statue would be located and who would design it.
State Senator Nathan Wesenberg, who helped create the proposal, said in a statement on twitter that the statue would represent constructive debate and civil dialogue.
“Universities should be places where diverse ideas are expressed, challenged, and debated with respect,” he said. “This statue will symbolize Minnesota’s commitment to free expression and the principle that we resolve our differences with words, not force.”
University of Minnesota students had different opinions from the senator. UMN computer science majors Connell Hagen and Gabby Ruth were opposed to the bill.
“I find it very odd. Charlie Kirk, to my knowledge, does not really even have a real connection to the University of Minnesota,” Hagen said. “And, politics aside, that seems like a waste of money to spend building a statue of somebody who wouldn’t have a connection to our university.”
“I think that money could be put towards the students and that would be a much better cause,” Ruth said. And, Charlie Kirk was not affiliated with the University of Minnesota. So, I don’t really see the point of the statue being on campus.”
The bill is currently unlike to pass through state legislation due to the DFL controlling the State Senate.
