A prestigious Christian private school in Nashville, Tennessee, has been attacked for its handling of students’ efforts to mourn the late MAGA activist Charlie Kirk.
The Turning Point USA founder, 31, was shot dead by a rooftop sniper as he debated students on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, Utah, on September 10, sending shockwaves across the political divide.
His widow, Erika Kirk, was presented with his posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump at a White House ceremony on Tuesday, on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday.
While conservatives across the U.S. have been looking for ways to pay tribute to the influential activist, from erecting statues to renaming roads, Lipscomb Academy in Nashville comprehensively failed in honoring his memory, according to reality TV star turned conservative activist Savannah Chrisley, who appeared on Newsmax on Thursday to discuss the issue.
Guesting on National Report, Chrisley, 28, explained that her younger sister is in seventh grade at the institution and that it had been she who first told her that pupils had been prevented from wearing suit jackets and red ties in tribute to Kirk, prompting Chrisley to draw attention to the situation on social media.
According to The Tennessean, the incident in question occurred on September 12. It involved 12-15 boys, who were told by Upper School Head of School Jesse Savage that they must remove the ties because they violated Lipscomb’s dress code.
“When these children were told to take off ties because it was in violation of a dress code… to see these kids struggling and mourning and not having the faculty to rally around them was really heartbreaking,” Chrisley told Newsmax. “Wearing the red ties, for it to be a dress code violation, was honestly laughable.”
The school’s student handbook stipulates, according to The Tennessean, that attendees are allowed to wear “a variation of khakis or pleated skirt with an approved Lipscomb shirt.” However, “certain approved sweaters, blouses, and vests” are also permitted. Buttons, badges, and pins are not, however, and only a Lipscomb “spirit tie” may be worn.
A school spokesperson previously told Fox News in a statement: “To clarify, on Friday, September 12, a small group of Academy students wore red ties to honor Charlie Kirk. While this was out of dress code, they were not disciplined but were asked to remove them.
“The morning of the very next school day, Monday, September 15, Academy administrators met with these students to understand their experiences and to support them in finding a meaningful way to honor Charlie.
“As a result of this meeting, the students were given approval and planned to wear red ties on another day. But, instead they chose to collaborate with the Academy’s team to plan a future chapel focused on being bold and impactful in their faith.”
Lipscomb subsequently issued a press release on September 25, apologizing for its handling of the tie episode in response to complaints from students and parents. Still, this did not stop protesters from gathering on its front lawn the following morning.
Chrisley subsequently cheered the development on X and told the boys: “Your school and faculty didn’t just miss the mark….they betrayed you in a moment that called for faith, unity, and truth.”
The chapel service to honor Kirk was also a cause of chagrin to Chrisley, who complained on Newsmax that it only lasted 23 minutes.
“Unfortunately, at Lipscomb you have these far left-wing activists that have come into the school and they’re trying to control everything,” she alleged.
“These staff members have referred to Charlie Kirk as a racist, a fascist, and that’s the sad part. This is a private Christian school.”
Chrisley further claimed that a member of the school’s leadership hierarchy had written a dissertation on applying DEI initiatives in southern Christian teaching institutions, which she felt would offend parents if it were more widely known, and said the school suffered from “a lack of strong male leadership”.
The Independent has reached out to Lipscomb Academy for comment.
A former reality TV star known for appearing in Chrisley Knows Best and Growing up Chrisley, Savannah Chrisley successfully lobbied President Trump earlier this year to pardon her parents of tax evasion and fraud charges.
