Plans for first Charlie Kirk statue revealed by formerly woke institution

A Charlie Kirk debate statue has been commissioned by a college that was formerly known to be a bastion of leftism.

Kirk has been honored across the country after his murder on September 10, when he was shot and killed by a suspect who allegedly admitted in text messages that he hated Kirk and that their differences could not be "negotiated."

Since, Kirk has been honored by NFL teams and NASCAR drivers, for example, but it now seems the first statue is being commissioned in his honor.

'She let her pink hair dye fade and her mullet grow out before returning to school.'

A mock-up of the memorial was shared online that showed a bronzed Kirk sitting at a table with a microphone, reaching his hand out across the table.

The endearing design was shared by the New College of Florida on Tuesday, which announced it would "commission a statue of Charlie Kirk to honor his legacy and incredible work after his tragic assassination last week."

The school noted that the statue will be privately funded by "community leaders" and will "stand on campus as a commitment by New College to defend and fight for free speech and civil discourse in American life."

While NCF is seemingly the first institution or group of people anywhere to commission a statue for Kirk, the school has not always been at the forefront of conservatism by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it was once heralded for being a safe place for LGBTQ-themed leftism.

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NCF, located in Sarasota, Florida, boasts itself as being "rooted in reason [and] rising with purpose," but was described by a student in 2023 as "a tiny place of safety in this increasingly hostile state."

The student, who identified as "LGBTQ," told the New York Times that he or she was "praying that DeSantis would never find out about [the school]. But he did."

Later that year, Gov. Ron DeSantis followed through on a promise to rid the school of its "woke indoctrination" policies and subsequently eliminated its diversity office and fired its diversity chief and academic librarian. The Times noted both of these faculty members were gay. More than a third of faculty was eliminated — around 36 or so — with 125 students voluntarily leaving the school.

One outgoing student said that the school had lost everything that was "good and charming," while another remaining student was described as doing the following out of fear:

"She let her pink hair dye fade and her mullet grow out before returning to school," the Times wrote. "For fear, she said, that administrators and new students would judge her."

NCF has since increased its enrollment.

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Candles and flowers are seen near a portrait of Charlie Kirk at a makeshift memorial during a candlelight vigil at Memorial Park in Provo, Utah, on September 12, 2025. (Photo by Melissa MAJCHRZAK / AFP) (Photo by MELISSA MAJCHRZAK/AFP via Getty Images)

According to a report by Fox 13 on Tuesday, NCF is seeing "record high enrollment."

About 900 students are enrolled in the college for this semester, the most in the school's history. With 300 new students, it marks the third year in a row that the school has reportedly exceeded enrollment expectations.

The location of the Kirk memorial statue has not yet been announced.

NCF was founded in 1960.

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