Unheard and disappointed: students react to the renaming of the Diversity Lounge
Campus News, Feature November 19, 2025, Comments OffThe Trump Administration has been threating and taking funds away from universities and colleges around the nation if they do not rename or completely remove Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) offices, initiatives, and speech. For a period, students at private universities, like Drury University, were under the assumption that the threat of funding would not impact them.
However, earlier this year on February 25, 2025, Drury received a notice from the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education titled “Dear Colleagues.” In this letter, there were guidelines in which the university had to adhere to in order for students to receive federal funding through FAFSA.
“These new regulations have come at various times in 2025,” said Drury’s President Dr. Jeff Frederick in a statement. “These federal government documents outlined changes, including those related to the naming of spaces…Like other universities, Drury worked to understand the federal regulatory changes and react to them.”
Since this letter was distributed to Drury university, there has been a constant slew of changes to the university’s DEI initiatives and programs. The Associate Dean Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was renamed the Office of Student Support Services. One bigger change that was noticed by student Lizzie Murray, president of United Asian Voices (UAV), was the removal of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statements from professors’ syllabi. Murray also noted changes to the general campus’ statement of Diversity. “If you talk about [DEI], it’s a sensitive topic, and it really shouldn’t be. It’s weird,” Murray said.
Recently, the lounge in the back corner of the Findley Student Center (FSC) faced a name change. The formally known name was the Diversity Lounge (DL); however, in response to the federal targeting of DEI, the space will now be called the Campus Connection Corner (CCC).
A statement from Kunti Bentley, Director of Student Support Services, spoke on the specific letter the university received that triggered the sudden change to the Diversity Lounge. Students noticed the sign with the name of the lounge ripped from the wall at the beginning of the school year. “We received a new update… from the Office of Attorney General Bondi on July 29,” Bentley stated. “The memorandum offers a new round of guidance in how the federal government intends to interpret and enforce their two previous statements from earlier in 2025. Under the heading of proxy effects, we have removed, for now and perhaps longer pending further guidance from the federal government, the sign… in the basement of FSC that used the phrase ‘diversity lounge.’ As before, the lounge space remains open to any and all, with no benefit or burden to any protected category,” Bentley continued.
The Mirror also received a statement from Drury’s Dean of Students and Executive Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Tijuana Julian, highlighting the process utilized to choose a new name for the Diversity Lounge. “The Office of Student Support Services prepared a list of possible names that were provided by members of student organizations,” Dr. Julian stated. “Those suggestions were gathered before Fall Break, and then were presented to the President’s Leadership Team. The Leadership Team then discussed the options, and chose the new name from those options.”
A survey was sent to the organizational presidents and faculty advisors that primarily use the space. Drury University’s Student Government Association (SGA) was also sent the survey. Each student organization had the opportunity to submit a suggested name, and three options were to be sent to leadership.
While each student organization had an opportunity to submit multiple names, many chose a similar name: the Rosalyn Thomas Lounge. Dr. Rosalyn Thomas, the former Associate Dean of Diversity & Inclusion, retired in spring of 2025 after over a decade of service to the university. She began at Drury in 2013 as the coordinator of Diversity Support Services in the Student Affairs Division. The impact that Dr. Thomas had on many students at this university was monumental.
“I think naming it after Dr. Rosalyn would have been awesome,” Lizzie Murray continued. “I think it would been a good solution to not using any type of diversity, equity, inclusion words in the name, but still giving it that sense of a welcoming, warm, environment.”
Jackson Cornell, the Vice President of Campus Connection in SGA, explained the internal perspectives from SGA regarding the space’s renaming. “The overwhelming majority of [SGA’s] Executive Council supported the Dr. Ros Thomas room,” Cornell commented. Despite the seemingly unanimous decision for a new name, the university opted for the Campus Connection Corner (CCC) to be the new name of the Diversity Lounge.
“Honest opinion, it sounds too close to KKK,” commented Lauren Coleman, president of Black United Independent Collegiate (BUIC). These were her initial thought of the new name. Lauren isn’t the only student who feels disappointed in the new name. Esther Manning, president of the Feminist Club, was also concerned with the renaming. “I was very disappointed when I first heard it. I thought for sure that the Diversity Lounge would be renamed to the Rosalyn Thomas Lounge, or something very similar,” Manning commented.
Jackson Cornell spoke further with The Mirror. “It became a name that doesn’t really represent anything. It’s a nothing burger of a name,” Jackson Cornell said.
Many students feel that the Campus Connection Corner does not come close to capturing the essence of the space. The Diversity Lounge, to many students, once represented a space of belonging, inclusion, and acceptance.
As per study of other spaces on campus, some students have theorized that the lounge was potentially not renamed the Rosalyn Thomas Lounge because Dr. Thomas did not donate any funds to Drury. Esther Manning spoke directly about this decision, should it be the case. “Dr. Ros may not have donated [funds] to the university, but she dedicated so much of her time and energy to empowering students. If an exception is going to be made for anyone, it should be for her,” commented Esther.
Students, like Jackson Cornell, echoed the same sentiment. “Dr. Ros donated years of her life to this institution. Her service is more of a contribution than any amount of money could be. And I think it’s worth honoring that,” Cornell finished.
Many students simply wish they were made aware of the specifications of naming a new space on campus. They reported wanting to understand all other rules or guidelines that restricted the options. “If we were told [that the space cannot be named after those who have not donated], we could’ve come up with something better. Campus Connection Corner sounds stupid. It sounds like a daycare,” commented one Drury student who sought to remain anonymous.
Another student who wanted to remain anonymous commented that “we began feeling like our voices were about to be heard in this. And then when it was time for our voices to actually be heard, they just said no.” Esther Manning agreed. “It feels like a slap to the face,” she said.
Among students, there is speculation about whether this current name even came from students. The name, Campus Connection Corner, seems to have come from SGA; however, that may not be the case. Jackson Cornell spoke about how the executive council of SGA aligned with a name that honored Dr. Rosalyn Thomas. “I was told after the fact that the name had come from a member of SGA, but nobody knew which member it was or how they were able to submit it,” Cornell told The Mirror.
Overall, student reactions to the new space and the naming procedures have been quite negative. Many students feel unheard by the university, and the process has left a poor impression. Drury students feel that, without a voice, the very spaces promoting their inclusion are beginning to slip away.
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