When news broke that Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated while promoting peaceful discussion at a university event, people across the country were shocked and heartbroken. But what came next added fuel to the fire: a top staff member at a Tennessee university publicly mocked his death. That person, Laura Sosh-Lightsy, was the Assistant Dean of Students at Middle Tennessee State University, or MTSU. Her comments didn’t just spark outrage—they cost her the job.
Let’s unpack what really happened.
On Wednesday, Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University during a Turning Point USA event meant to encourage civil discourse. That’s when tragedy struck. Kirk was shot and killed in what authorities are still investigating. No matter where you stand politically, it was a horrifying act of violence that has no place in America.
But instead of offering sympathy or staying silent, Sosh-Lightsy took to Facebook and posted something that many found deeply offensive. “Looks like ol’ Charlie spoke his fate into existence,” she wrote. “Hate begets hate. ZERO sympathy.”
Let’s break that down. The phrase “spoke his fate into existence” suggests that Kirk somehow deserved what happened to him. Sosh-Lightsy’s statement clearly implied that because of Kirk’s strong conservative views, his murder was expected—or even justified.
That didn’t sit well with a lot of people, especially in Tennessee, where MTSU is located. Senator Marsha Blackburn, who represents the state, didn’t hold back. “She should be fired tomorrow,” Blackburn said in a public statement. She called Kirk an inspiration to young people and defended his right to speak on college campuses.
Other leaders joined the call for accountability. Representative Jason Zachary, a Tennessee state lawmaker and MTSU graduate, said he was “disgusted.” He encouraged students and parents to contact the university and demand action. According to Zachary, someone who shows such “little regard for basic decency and the value of life” should not be working in education at all.
And it seems the university listened.
On Thursday, Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney McPhee released a statement confirming that Laura Sosh-Lightsy had been fired. Her Facebook account had already been deleted by that point, but screenshots of her post had already gone viral.
Now here’s the bigger picture: What happened here is not just about one person making a bad post. It’s about what kind of culture exists in our universities and whether all students—conservative, liberal, or in between—are treated with respect.
Charlie Kirk was a controversial figure to some, yes. He challenged liberal ideas and pushed for conservative thought on college campuses. But the idea that someone could be mocked for being murdered because of their beliefs is not just wrong—it’s dangerous.
This is not about free speech being silenced. Sosh-Lightsy had every legal right to say what she did on Facebook. But freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences. As Assistant Dean of Students, her job was to support and protect all students, no matter their political views. When she publicly celebrated the death of a young conservative leader, she showed she couldn’t do that job fairly.
And people took notice.
The swift action by MTSU to fire Sosh-Lightsy sends a message: Hate has no place in higher education, no matter who it’s aimed at. Colleges should be places where ideas are debated, not where people are attacked—verbally or physically—for what they believe.
In the end, Charlie Kirk’s mission was to bring civil discourse back to college campuses. The tragedy of his death—and the ugly reaction it drew from someone in a leadership role—only shows how important that mission still is today.