Ryan Rundle began to pray and hope for the best after he had heard the news.
On Sept. 10, Rundle learned that Charlie Kirk, co-founder of the conservative nonprofit student group Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck at a Utah college campus on his American Comeback Tour.
Soon after, Kirk was confirmed dead by President Donald Trump due to his injuries.
Rundle, who now serves as the Cal Poly TPUSA chapter president and is a first-time official member of the club, said it nearly doubled in size following Kirk’s death.
Over 100 students signed an interest form to join the conservative group before the start of the school year at the Week of Welcome (WOW) club showcase.
Despite not having a designated booth after failing to register on time, the university let TPUSA promote outside of the event.
“A lot of people joined after the assassination because I think they realized the importance of being able to, you know, the importance of being able to unite together as a community,” Rundle said.
Following Kirk’s assassination, Rundle designated some responsibilities to himself as the leader of the university’s primary conservative hub for students.
For one, Rundle emphasized the importance of open conversation and discourse, resembling what he believes Kirk strived to do in his Prove Me Wrong tabling at Cal Poly in March 2024.
“If we don’t have these open conversations, what ends up happening is we drift farther from each other,” said Rundle, a business administration senior.
He also encouraged any student to join TPUSA at Cal Poly regardless of their background or beliefs and wanted to include differing perspectives instead of creating an echo chamber of dialogue within the club.
“I’m gonna do my best for people that I even wholeheartedly disagree with on a fundamental principle to just be able to listen to them and where they come from and just have empathy.”
Ryan Rundle, Cal Poly TPUSA President
What is Turning Point USA?
TPUSA was founded in 2012 by Kirk, a conservative activist, with the intent to promote principles of limited government, free market and fiscal responsibility on college and high school campuses across the nation, according to the nonprofit’s website.
At the college level, there are over 800 TPUSA chapters scattered across the country.
Cal Poly’s TPUSA chapter was formally recognized as an active club in 2022, according to bylaw documents for the group.
Since then, the club has hosted multiple speaker events on campus, including one in 2023 called “A Dad and a Detransitioner’s Take on the Transgender Movement,” which sparked a counter-protest outside of the Fisher Science building, Take Back Title IX featuring former collegiate swimmer and political activist Riley Gaines and, more recently, Charlie Kirk’s Prove Me Wrong on Dexter Lawn.
READ MORE: Charlie Kirk’s visit to Cal Poly in 2024
Ally Appel, the new club secretary for TPUSA at Cal Poly, said she admits the group has not been received well in the past by some students on campus.
She said people outside of the university’s WOW club showcase had referred to them as “Nazis” as they passed by.
The group had set up a makeshift spot outside of the WOW event, where they handed out flyers advertising the club’s plan to hold a vigil for Kirk.
Appel, a political science junior, said she and the other new members of the club have the opportunity to change student perception this year.
“Since we’re kind of revamping our group a little bit, it can maybe have an opportunity to be redefined in what people perceive us as,” Appel said.
Rundle said he attended the event with the detransitioned speaker held by the club in 2023 neither in support or protest but rather out of curiosity.
The event included political activists Chris Elston and Chloe Cole, who both spoke against transgender rights and “gender ideology,” Mustang News previously reported.
“I’ve had people respond harshly to me just because of even showing up and being willing to listen and have a conversation,” Rundle said in response to attending the event.
To Appel’s understanding, many on campus who perceive the group negatively are not “open-minded,” and she feels like most students have already established their opinions on TPUSA without giving the club a second thought.
Kirk’s influence on conservative youth, despite controversy
Kirk’s role within the political arena for conservative youth rose around the same time as Trump’s first administration.
As an ally of Trump and an opponent of critical race theory, Kirk preached to crowds of mainly white conservative college students across the country.
Appel said she started following Kirk in 2020 through YouTube videos of him debating students. She said this was also around the same time she started developing her political beliefs.
“I had a little addiction with like watching those type of videos,” she said.
The club’s secretary added that the exchange of ideas during Kirk’s college campus tours was something she didn’t see a lot in the media.
Not only did Kirk influence many young conservatives who agreed with his view on racism, gun rights, abortion and transgender rights, but he also criticized those who opposed him.
After visiting Cal Poly, Kirk bolstered the attendance of conservatives at his debate at “one of the most liberal schools in the country” and called protesters “weak and pathetic.”
“San Luis Obispo is a very liberal town,” Kirk said on his podcast. “It’s like Seattle in California.”
News of Kirk’s death seeps through Cal Poly
Rundle said he had met Kirk a few times, both on Cal Poly’s campus and at other TPUSA events, before the conservative activist’s death.
Although he only knew about Kirk after interacting with the club, Rundle felt hurt after hearing about the shooting and believed it was “something that could very well happen on our college campus.”
The club president said he was also disturbed by the videos that surfaced of Kirk’s death, calling it a “livestreamed” assassination.
READ MORE: TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk fatally shot during Utah campus event
Appel said she had a friend who was at Utah Valley University when Kirk was shot and notified her about what happened. Like Rundle, she too mourned the TPUSA founder’s death.
“I think he’s a good person,” Appel said. “I really admired him. So it was just, it was just really upsetting.
At the university’s club showcase, Rundle told Mustang News he had been in communication with Cal Poly Police about safety measures for future events.
State of free speech in the country
Comments about Kirk’s death have resulted in limitations to free speech nationwide, including late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who had his show removed from air from Sept. 17 until Sept. 23 by ABC, as well as journalists and teachers who were fired for speaking out.
Rundle said he felt torn over the limitations of free speech in the country following Kirk’s death.
For one, Rundle said he does not agree with people who celebrate Kirk’s death, though he also does not agree with people getting fired from their jobs over their comments.
“You shouldn’t be feeling threatened for speaking your voice.”
Ryan Rundle, Cal Poly TPUSA President
TPUSA has a Professor Watchlist project that aims to “expose and document college professors who discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom,” according to its website.
The ongoing list of professors across the nation includes an educator from Cal Poly.
The Professor Watchlist claimed that Maya Hislop, an assistant professor in English, had told her students in 2023 about the event held by Cal Poly’s TPUSA chapter featuring the detransitioned speaker, where Hislop apparently said the event would be “spreading lies about the trans community,” according to the TPUSA website.
The website said TPUSA had contacted the university about the statement but received no response.
Rundle said he believes Kirk was an example of free speech, discourse and leadership for college students, but acknowledged the TPUSA founder had flaws.
“I don’t think Charlie Kirk was ever perfect, you know,” Rundle said. “I mean, no human is.”
The future of Cal Poly’s conservative group
As the school year continues, Rundle said he is learning to navigate the TPUSA chapter at Cal Poly.
He said the club aims to continue protecting the right to free speech, and that TPUSA is “here to stay.”
On Sept. 29, the group hosted a memorial service for Kirk alongside Active Church. The event drew a crowd of almost 1,000 attendees to the Performing Arts Center on campus.
READ MORE: Charlie Kirk vigil at the Performing Arts Center
The club president also encourages people to join the club regardless of what they believe in, and hopes to bring more guest speakers to campus as well as promote other activities for members.
“You’ll probably find some people you agree with, some people you disagree with. And, you know, that’s kind of the point.”
Ryan Rundle, Cal Poly TPUSA President
This story originally appeared in the October print edition of Mustang News. Check out more from the edition at news stands around campus and San Luis Obispo.
For more stories from the October print edition check out the featured print section on our website or the full issue.