Cal Poly paid for security at Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk vigil. Here’s how much
Cal Poly spent nearly $6,000 to pay for security at the Charlie Kirk memorial held at the campus Performing Arts Center last month, the university said.
The event, held on Sept. 29 in the aftermath of Kirk’s death, drew about 1,000 people to campus for a night of worship and speeches. University police vehicles were present, as were SWAT officers stationed atop the Vista Grande dining complex and police drones flying overhead.
At the time, university spokesperson Matt Lazier told The Tribune the costs would be shared between the campus chapter of Kirk’s Turning Point USA organization and the university, but the extent of those costs were unknown.
Now, Lazier said Cal Poly paid about $5,963 for security at the event. That’s in addition to the around $6,500 that event organizers paid to rent out the facility.
Organizer Nina Spinello told The Tribune the SLO County activism hub for Turning Point raised about $15,000 to cover all event expenses, plus some.
“Cal Poly did not contribute financially to the event,” she told The Tribune in a text. “The university did provide its own security personnel, which was a decision made by campus emergency response teams in accordance with standard safety protocols. This measure was part of Cal Poly’s obligation to ensure the safety of all attendees during events held on campus, not an indication of financial or organizational involvement.”
According to Lazier, the university’s costs broke down into $3,275 in overtime pay for Cal Poly police officers who worked the event, in addition to $2,688 for added hired security and equipment like metal detector wands.
There was no fee for the mutual aid provided by SWAT, Lazier said.
The Tribune also confirmed with SLO Police Department spokesperson Christine Wallace that the department did not intend to bill the university for mutual aid provided by its drone team.
Why did Cal Poly pay for security at the Charlie Kirk event?
The Tribune inquired about Cal Poly’s policies for providing security at events hosted on campus.
According to Lazier, security demands are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
“With the goal of providing a safe campus environment for all university community members and visitors, Cal Poly’s Public Safety Office, in consultation with senior university leaderships, examines the details of proposed campus events and makes decisions on how best to provide public safety support,” Lazier told The Tribune in an email.
University officials consider how many law enforcement and security officers are required depending on the projected size of the event and other factors, Lazier said.
When extra security and law enforcement is required, the university typically pays for it.
“As charging student clubs for this security would be prohibitive to clubs holding larger events on campus, the university generally absorbs the costs for additional law enforcement and security required to adequately provide for public safety,” Lazier said.
Overall, the Kirk memorial had a much lower price tag than other controversial campus events — namely, Milo Yiannopoulos’ 2017 visit, which cost Cal Poly $46,600 in addition to $39,600 paid by the California State University system, The Tribune previously reported.
That event also involved Cal Poly’s Turning Point USA chapter.
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 12:07 PM.
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