Marie Moyer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Identity-based student organizations at the University of Missouri held a town hall on Monday after the university said it would stop funding them.
The affected groups are the Asian American Association, Association of Latin American Students, Four Front, Filling in the Space, Legion of Black Collegians and the Queer Liberation Front.
Hundreds of students packed into the auditorium at the Arts and Sciences building on Monday night.
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“We are moving from outrage to action. We cannot allow this ”intentional erasure’ to happen in silence,” according to a social media post announcing the meeting.
The QLF also made a post announcing the town hall.
According to a release from the University, starting during the fall 2026 semester, the five groups will be losing their designated funding and instead will be considered Recognized Student Organizations, that are the primary title for student organizations on campus. The majority of organizations were informed on Friday, while Filling in the Space was told Monday.
Designated funding for the groups will end in July.
RSOs can also apply for other funding. According to the release, this funding is “on an equal basis with the vast majority of other student organizations.”
According to several of the impacted organizations, the funding application is not guaranteed. Funding also limited to $1,500 per event with a $3,000 cap each semester and a $2,000 travel expense cap each year.
AAA as well as ALAS mentioned hosting annual events like the Asian Night Market and Trip Around Latin America, costing more than $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. Both feature many tables with activities and food for hundreds of attendees.
“It is a significant loss and it is a significant difference because there’s no guarantee that what we plan will happen,” AAA Secretary Chelsea Trieu said. “There’s no guarantee of how much we’ll have, so it’s just hard to anticipate what next year is going to look like.”
The LBC also told ABC 17 News its annual budget was around $60,000 for similar events open to students across the university.
“Our events regularly have hundreds of people coming to it,” LBC Vice President Desmond Jones said. “Having resources and having ways to pull from that to nothing, I think shows the lack of consideration for that organization.”
Jones added that funds are regularly used.
“It’s not fair if every organization isn’t given the opportunity to operate in the way that in the capacity that they have,” Jones said. “We have $60,000 because we’re using it consistently, we’re having those meetings, we’re going to places and we’re doing things that pushes the student body further into more camaraderie.”
All three groups are also umbrella organizations, overseeing and funding special interest and nationality clubs that fall under their association.
Dance group Freestyle Your Expression is one of the few dozen clubs that operates under the LBC. The group is typically given a budget of around $500 each year for event costumes from the LBC’s overall funds.
“We’re using the funding this year to pay for our costumes for the yard show, so that way students don’t have to go so deep in their pockets,” Freestyle Your Expression representative Patience Gamell said. “There’s a difference between recognized student organizations and LBC funding, because with LBC, you know that, either way, you will still be receiving your funding.”
ALAS similarly has eight other multicultural and Latino clubs they help oversee and fund. AAA also has eight additional clubs under its leadership.
“I’ve honestly been crying since Friday,” ALAS Vice President Mia Ramirez said. “We were founded in 1991 and we have done so much since then and this just feels like all the work that they have put in and all the work that they’ve done was for nothing.”
In statements on Instagram, Filling in the Space, Four Front and the Queer Liberation Front pushed back against the decision.
“It disrupts pipelines. It pulls the floor out from under communities that were just finding their footing and it lacts the support that we are trying to give to studets. And it does so without apology,” Filling in the Space said in a statement on Instagram Monday.
“This decision will cause real harm not just to Four Front’s recent progress, but also to the nine underorganizations we serve, many of whom depend on this funding to keep their own organizations running,” Four Front said in a statement on Instagram Monday.
“This decision will cause real harm not just to Four Front’s recent progress, but also to the nine underorganizations we serve, many of whom depend on this funding to keep their own organizations running,” QLF said in a statement on Instagram Sunday.
The move is coming nearly two years after MU dismantled its diversity division amid pressure from Republican political leaders who had promised to end diversity, equity and inclusion, commonly referred to as DEI.
“We will do our best to comply with it because we can’t endanger the funding that really drives our academic and our research pursuits,” MU spokesperson Christopher Ave said.
The Legion of Black Collegians clashed with administrators at the start of this school year, canceling an event after MU officials said the students had to strip Black from its name. A similar dustup happened in 2024.
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