When University of Arizona students returned back to campus for the fall semester, they discovered that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Two Spirit Resource Center had been stripped of any official association with diversity, equity and inclusion. 

As of the end of the fall semester, the center’s temporary name is SUMC 404 — a label many feel is more reminiscent of an error message than a home for queer and trans students. This state of limbo has ignited some backlash from students who feel that this decision reflects a quiet erasure of their identities. 

This May, inboxes were flooded with a series of administrative emails addressing some changes to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that would occur in the fall semester. 

Made in light of pressure and compliance letters from the federal government to colleges across the nation, the UA decided to rename and restructure DEI-affiliated centers. Many students worried about what this would mean for the cultural resource centers they rely on for resources and community. 

Ryan Thomas, a sophomore and active member of the LQBTQ+2s Resource Center, was concerned after learning of these changes. According to Thomas, her concern only grew as Kristen Godfrey, the center’s director, was abruptly fired over the summer. Soon, staff positions were reduced and funding cuts made the year prior were maintained and justified. 

According to Thomas, she knew she needed to take action when administration notified the center that their name would need to be changed in order to align with new DEI programming. Thomas and a group of peers acting as interim council hosted a town hall on Oct. 22 for members to discuss what should be done in response to these concerns.

“Technically, we are SUMC 404, which literally just means Student Union Memorial Center, room 404,” Thomas said. “So we are, literally, a place and a number. We don’t technically have a name at the moment.”

In the past, the LGBTQ+2s center served as a hub for any individual on campus who identified with or participated in the initiatives of the LGBTQ+2S community. 

Now, the center has been stripped of its name, making many feel erased and silenced. As pointed out by members during the town hall, the “404” computer error serves to denote a mistake or something “not found.” Although this was an unfortunate connection to the center’s location, many felt it was an additional slap in the face to a community struggling to combat erasure. 

The council was given the option to submit a proposal for what their new name would be. Two names were presented — both including “LGBTQ+2s” —  and both were subsequently rejected. 

Hoping to collaborate and resolve this, the council set up listening sessions with Vice Provost Jenna Hatcher. According to Thomas, in these sessions it became clear that the administration was fully planning on yielding to the DEI demands of the Trump administration.

Thomas felt that it was clear Hatcher and the UA administration was suggesting that students exclude the trans and queer aspects of the acronym. Thomas explained that while she knew Hatcher did not mean to be offensive, it was still frustrating. 

“Women and gender is still acceptable, but you’re gonna draw more attention with the trans and queer [wording]. We were told this should be changed,” Hatcher said. “You can probably get the LGB in there in some way.” 

Thomas explained how there is a movement right now — LGB without the T — to exclude trans people from the community. To hear these comments at this time was devastating, according to Thomas.

“It might seem like a small thing — a name — but the language we use is how we reach our community,” Thomas said. “How can we exist on this campus if we’re not allowed to name ourselves? Our name is our visibility, and visibility is survival.”

The main focus of the town hall was to decide on a new name for the center that the whole community agreed with. Some students wanted to follow a similar path to other resource centers facing the same issue, such as the Asian American and Pacific Islander Student Center renaming to the Lotus Center. 

Several other students wanted to submit the old name again in protest, knowing how important language can be when creating spaces for underrepresented students. Others deemed a combined approach would be best — choosing something symbolic that could be both compliant with standards set but equally true to their identity. 

“One of the names that came up was the Stonewall Student Space,” Thomas said. Stonewall refers to the site of a famous resistance movement of individuals revolting against police raids on a gay bar. 

“It’s a rebellious name while still not violating the closest thing to guidelines that we have. And it specifically highlights the trans community — exactly what [the administration is] trying to exclude,” Thomas said.

The council planned to send out a new form to the faculty and students involved with the center to decide on a new name that the majority of the community aligns with. But the future is still in question. Thomas explained how anxious students are to discover what is to happen to the spaces they rely on. 

“It’s just exhausting. These are spaces where we build community, where we find each other,” Thomas said. “And now, every week, it feels like we’re waiting for the next blow to fall — the next letter, the next order, the next name we can’t use.”

According to Thomas, there will be a second town hall held in the future to officially decide a new name for the space and they plan on centering student leadership to navigate these new changes. 

“It’s like we’re being erased in slow motion,” Thomas said. 

Thomas said she wants students and staff to engage with the LGBTQ+2s Center Instagram and to join resistance groups, such as UA Resist, to help fight for student resources and voices.

“These aren’t things undergraduate students should have to be worrying about, but because of the actions of administration, we do,” Thomas said.