UVU Faces Criticism for Commencement Speaker Choice

Utah Valley University (UVU) is receiving criticism for selecting Sharon McMahon as its commencement speaker. This decision has drawn ire due to her past remarks about Charlie Kirk, who was tragically killed on the same campus.

McMahon, an author and educator, made her comments shortly after Kirk’s death on social media. She stated, “While millions of people feel hurt, this horrific murder should never have happened and his words and actions will not magically be erased.” She added that for many Americans—particularly those from Black, LGBTQ, or Muslim communities—Kirk was not a suitable figure for open discussion on a college campus.

Caleb Chilcutt, the president of Turning Point USA at UVU, expressed his frustration on “Fox & Friends,” describing McMahon’s selection as a “slap in the face.” He remarked, “They could have chosen other speakers. Whether they liked Charlie or not really doesn’t matter to me. But to bring in someone so critical just days after his assassination on my campus is really shameful.”

Chilcutt also noted a divide among students, with more conservative individuals feeling upset and some liberal students seemingly celebrating the decision.

Adding to the controversy, former Utah Congressman Jason Chafetz criticized McMahon as a “terrible choice” and branded her a “liberal hack.” He pointed out that the university should reconsider its decision and suggested they still have the opportunity to change their mind.

“There’s still time to fix this,” he said. “If the university wants to do the right thing, they should rethink her hiring and choose someone like an astronaut or an athlete instead. This partisan figure shouldn’t be addressing students at graduation.”