Despite the closure of Kent State University’s LGBTQ+ Living Learning Community following the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 1, some of Korb Hall’s residents still attempt to maintain the tight-knit community the university once facilitated.

The LLC, established in fall 2016, started only on the 4th floor of Korb Hall. Upon its creation, housing officials chose Lauren Vachon, an LGBTQ+ studies advisor and professor, to manage the community.

“I think what happened was the president of the university at that time, Bev Warren, wanted an LGBTQ+ living learning community,” Vachon said. “So Bev communicated with the Dean of Arts and Sciences and then the dean communicated with Molly Merriman, who was directing the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality.”

Vachon came aboard to teach LGBTQ+ studies full-time in January 2016 and began directing the LLC the same year.

“That was my very first semester. The natural thing would be like myself as the person who would coordinate or direct it,” she said. “I felt like I had no idea what I was doing, I’m a brand new employee here… There was a lot of anxiety about it.”

The LLC was originally too small to fill all the rooms on the 4th floor.

“The first students would be there in the fall of 2016,” she said. “I think there were probably 15 or 18-ish students there. It was a very chaotic rollout of it. There was a homophobic and transphobic student on the same floor as the LLC because there weren’t quite enough students in the LLC to fill the whole floor.”

Having begun on the 4th floor of Korb Hall, other floors began to fill with students specifically requesting to live in the community, like Ava Montoney, a sophomore integrated language arts major.

“Ultimately, I chose the LGBTQ+ LLC because I wanted more people to live around me that were kind of my kin,” she said. “People that I could talk to and not feel discriminated against.”

Many people who lived in Korb Hall for the LLC continued to live there after it shut down, Montoney included.

“A lot of the people who live on the floor are people that lived in the LLC last year,” she said. “A lot of us that lived here last year and the year before when it was still the LLC stayed for the most part… But we also have other people, we had one person who left because their roommate was gay.”

Montoney is one resident of the former LLC who was wary of potentially being roomed with someone who did not support LGBTQ+ individuals, which she cited as one of the reasons why she initially chose to live there. 

“I was pretty disappointed, but not shocked in the slightest,” Montoney said. “A lot of people initially joined the LLC because there’s this big fear of, ‘hey, will I have a homophobic or transphobic roommate?’ I did not want to deal with that.”

Sam Canter, a sophomore human development and family science major, is another resident of the former LLC frustrated by the legislation that forced the university to close it.

“One of the main reasons I picked Kent was because I was told it was super queer friendly. The proof I got of that was it having the LLC,” Canter said. “My freshman year, my roommate and I were in the LLC and then the year after, it’s gone. I was really disappointed to see it gone.”

While others still feel a similar sense of community as they had in recent years, Canter finds the atmosphere of his floor has changed.

“I now find it a lot more difficult to connect with people on my floor. I live on the same floor, but it’s not the LLC,” he said. “There are other queer people on the floor, but I feel like we’re less willing or less predisposed to casually talk in the group chat. I feel like the LLC made it so that the framing of it was like you’re with family now.”

Upon mentioning the incident that occurred on September 17, 2024, when an individual graffitied Korb Hall’s exterior with a homophobic slur, Canter said the LLC’s presence helped its residents feel better about what happened.

“When the graffiti happened, there was a lot of fear because they’re coming for the queer people’s homes,” he said. “I feel like us knowing we had that connection and already being so close helped facilitate a little less anxiety from everyone.”

Having originally planned on living in Korb Hall for all four years of his degree, Canter said his choice to move to a different residence hall was inspired by the removal of the LLC.

“I was planning on dorming at least until my junior year, in Korb, just because it’s comfortable,” he said. “I’ve been in Korb since my freshman year… But I personally am going to be going for a single next year.”

Korb Hall resident Charlie Burrows, a sophomore computer science major, isn’t just moving to a different hall next year; he and his partner are moving off campus entirely.

“If the LLC still existed, we would probably be more inclined to stay on campus, but it feels like there’s nothing here for us in a way,” Burrows said. “It’s really frustrating to have the only home you’ve ever known on campus be taken away from you.”

Burrows spoke fondly about his experience living there during his time at KSU.

“It was an overwhelming feeling of community everywhere you went,” he said. “It was really easy to find friends… I knew that everybody around me was going to be friendly and accepting.”

However, Burrows found the last two semesters much different than he found his first year in regards to the community and how comfortable he is with being himself around others on his floor.

“The bonds are still there, there’s still people who live on the floor who used to be in the LLC, but because it’s not supported by the university, it doesn’t feel the same,” he said. “I’m definitely more wary of myself.”

Burrows is just one of the many people who used to live in the LLC and now feel like they don’t have a place where they can exist freely.

“We had a space where we could say that we’re alright together, we know we will be okay together, even if the outside world and other people are actively targeting us,” he said. “We know that we can stay here and talk about this with each other and it can be, for a lack of a better word, a safe space.”