Rocklin Unified board holds moment of silence for Charlie Kirk

Rocklin Unified School District opened its board meeting Sept. 17 with a moment of silence for Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist who was assassinated during a visit to Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Board President Rachelle Price started the moment of silence with a speech about how the people in the room sit in a unique place with several things in common: Rocklin residents who value being engaged in their community's upbringing as young scholars. "As such, we have a responsibility to the children in our district and to our community to lead by example," Price goes on to explain. "This next year, every school in this district will be teaching and celebrating the 250 years of the founding of this great nation. That founding document, the Declaration of Independence, in which we are endowed by our creator with uncertain, unalienable with certain unalienable rights. The first one of those is life, and we as the adults, leaders, educators, have a significant responsibility to teach the values and principles that this country was founded upon." Price said Kirk was an American father who was murdered for sharing his beliefs. She quoted Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah, who spoke about the situation: "Charlie Kirk was first and foremost a husband and a dad to two young children. He believed in the power of free speech and debate to shape ideas and to persuade people," part of Cox's quote shared. "Historically, our university campuses in this nation have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated, and that is what Charlie did. He came to college campuses and he debated that is foundational to the formation of our country and to our most basic constitutional right. And when someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very constitutional foundation is threatened. I don't care what his politics are. I care that he was an American." Price shared that Kirk visited Rocklin three times. "The loss of Charlie Kirk hits a little close to home, because Charlie had been in Rocklin three times in the last few years," she explained. "He had met with our students. He gave a voice to everyone, including those that he did not agree with." She also shared there were Rocklin Unified graduates in attendance when the shooting occurred. Price said Rocklin parents can help guide students to not add to the divisiveness people are seeing within the country. She advised parents can lead by example to teach their children how to respect another's opinion and their right to share that opinion. Parents can demonstrate the importance of listening and engaging through embracing their differences without hate through safe discussions with one another with the purpose just being to understand differences are not deficits. "Showing respect for the dignity of every person, whether you agree with him or not, is not optional. It is essential," Price said. "We are in a unique place as Americans, and I am confident that we can do better in Rocklin. We can be hopeful. We can be part of the solution, and we can look for healing." The room held for a moment of silence before moving on to the regular board meeting activities.