At the start of 2025’s Pride Month, Kent State University’s Division of Student Life issued an email confirming the closure of campus identity centers happening on June 27.

According to the message, the LGBTQ+ Center, E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center, Women’s Center and the LGBTQ+ Living-Learning Community will close their doors this summer.

A day ahead of the anticipated closures, the LGBTQ+ Center made an Instagram post showing the lights out in the once rainbow offices, in which they thanked the Kent community for their support.

“The LGBTQ+ community is not defined by a location, but by our unwavering spirit,” said the post.

In the caption, they listed other resources for students to find a similar community. These resources included Pride!Kent, Trans*fusion, Ruach – Queer Jewish Spirit and Fusion Magazine in addition to the Center for Student Involvement for a complete listing.

As of June 27, the post was met with close to 600 likes and 19 comments expressing appreciation for the center and sharing memories.

Some commenters took the chance to express calls to action against Ohio’s Senate Bill 1, the piece of legislation responsible for the center’s closure. Other campus centers took to social media to announce their official closure as well, including Kent’s Women’s Center and the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center.

The two centers issued identical posts informing they will no longer be active accounts after June 27.

“With the identity-based centers no longer operating as of today in compliance with the new state law, the associated social media accounts are being sunsetted,” said Emily Vincent, Director of University Media Relations.

In the same post, both encouraged their followers to follow the Center for Student Involvement’s Instagram page to learn more about campus involvement, including clubs and leadership positions.

Nikki Gasiewski is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].