Middle Tennessee State University fired its assistant dean Wednesday after disrespectful posts saying she was “celebrating” the death of Charlie Kirk.
Laura Sosh-Lightsy, the assistant dean of students, allegedly shared two Facebook posts regarding Kirk’s assassination Wednesday on a college campus in Utah.
“Looks like ol’ Charlie spoke his fate into existence. Hate begets hate. ZERO sympathy,” Sosh-Lightsy wrote in one post, which X user Matthew Hurtt shared as a screen shot.
Assistant Dean of Students for my alma mater — Middle Tennessee State University — has some thoughts on Charlie Kirk’s assassination. pic.twitter.com/HN3HIPI24l
— Matthew Hurtt (@matthewhurtt) September 11, 2025
In a follow-up post shortly after, Sosh-Lightsy agreed with a meme about Kirk.
“Yep. Hate begets hate,” she wrote. “Still no sympathy. You get back what you put into the world tenfold.”
She had a follow-up post moments later. pic.twitter.com/Ve9pIbqECL
— Matthew Hurtt (@matthewhurtt) September 11, 2025
Do you agree with the school’s decision?
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee shared Hurtt’s screen shots on X, notifying MTSU of Sosh-Lightsy’s comments.
“This person should be ashamed of her post. She should be removed from her position at @MTSU,” Blackburn wrote on X.
This person should be ashamed of her post. She should be removed from her position at @MTSU. https://t.co/IxvPUn6qvQ
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) September 11, 2025
Later that night, MTSU President Sidney McPhee announced in a statement that he had terminated someone at the university.
“An MTSU employee today offered inappropriate and callous comments on social media concerning the horrific and tragic murder of Charlie Kirk,” McPhee wrote in the statement.
“The comments by this employee, who worked in a position of trust directly with students, were inconsistent with our values and have undermined the university’s credibility and reputation with our students, faculty, staff, and the community at large.
“This employee has been fired effective immediately. We extend our deepest sympathies to the Kirk family,” McPhee said.
University spokesman Jimmy Hart later confirmed that the employee was Sosh-Lightsy, according to The Tennessean.
McPhee posted a follow-up statement to Facebook Thursday, addressing the campus community.
“This is the time when we count on our staff to be thoughtful, supportive and even-keeled. The best antidote for stress is caring,” McPhee wrote in part. “Imagine our shock, then, when we learned that an employee had posted callous and insensitive comments on Facebook to an audience that certainly knows of her role at MTSU.”
“Speech can have consequences and her thoughtlessness and lack of empathy mean that no one walking into her office can see her as an objective arbiter of facts,” McPhee said later in the statement.
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