Louisiana Governor, Jeff Landry, made an X post on Oct. 27 challenging Louisiana State University to become the first college campus in the U.S. to construct a memorial statue of Charlie Kirk.
While seemingly bold in its statement, LSU is not the only school discussing the construction of Kirk statues. Florida and Texas are two of the leaders in planned memorialization of Kirk, arguing that it stands to honor free speech on college campuses.
Already, The New College of Florida has commissioned a statue to honor the Kirk legacy, and Texas state representative Nate Schatzline announced on X that his first bill of the 90th legislative session will be to order the erection of a Kirk statue on the University of Texas-Austin campus.
Much like every other aspect of public life, placemaking has become increasingly political, as national debates extend into people’s personal lives and social identities. The narratives we use to tell the stories of one political side or the other not only shape our understanding of truth but also influence how comfortable individuals feel within politicized spaces.
I agree with Kirk’s assertion that everyone should be entitled to free speech and personal opinion. However, the legacy he leaves through these statues does not seem to represent the freedom to express oneself, especially given that many of his followers hold views that seek to suppress diversity of expression in America and that the reasoning for the statues appears political.
During his speech at a Turning Point event, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, mentioned his intentions to construct a memorial statue of Kirk, but before leaving the stage, he urged students to embrace the conservative ideologies of Kirk’s organization as “truth above all else.” This runs counter to Kirk’s professed support for freedom of speech and diversity of thought.
If the rhetoric is for students not to exercise their free speech unless it is “the truth,” acceptable beliefs and identities are thus shaped by the placemaking strategies employed to shape public opinion and behavior.
This is the exact reason why the LSU Student Senate passed legislation last week denouncing the construction of discriminatory statues or memorials on campus.
“This adds to this discriminatory environment on campus and a statue which is dedicated to Charlie Kirk — who has no affiliation with LSU and no affiliation with the state of Louisiana and whose speech was divisive,” student Senator Alicia Cerquone said, according to the LSU student newspaper.
The push for memorialization is coupled with claims that it is respect for victims of political violence, yet there has been no push for memorialization of the two state lawmakers from Minnesota who were gunned down in their homes in June of 2025.
State representative Melissa Hortman served in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 20 years, serving as the speaker of the chamber for 6 years, right up to her death in June. She promoted the expansion of individual freedoms and was known for working across the aisle.
Despite decades of public service and advocacy for all Americans, Hortman has received no push for memorialization. This isn’t unusual, since construction of memorials on college campuses is often reserved for accomplished alumni or accredited national leaders. However, separating the violence that killed her from that of Kirk creates an ideological divide that deepens unhealthy public discourse when Americans should instead be seeking common ground.
Yes, Kirk and every other American is entitled to express their opinions, but that does not mean they should be memorialized at publicly funded universities, which are meant to remain free from political ideology.
