CSU silently cuts LGBTQ+ student services – The Cauldron
Cleveland State University (CSU) quietly eliminated its LGBTQ+ student programs and removed related resources from its website, a decision that comes after the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 1 has forced schools to scale back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Once housed on the second floor of Berkman Hall, CSU’s LGBTQ+ Student Center has been quietly removed, with Viking Vets now sitting in its place.
Every link referencing LGBTQ+ student services has been removed from CSU’s official website. This includes the LGBTQ+ Student Services, LGBTQ+ Resource Guide, LGBTQ+ Student Organizations, Community Resources, The Mareyjoyce Green Office of Women’s Support Services and Web Resources pages.
The University has not made any formal announcements about these changes, and no recent media reports mention the cuts.
These actions coincide with the enactment of Ohio Senate Bill 1, also known as the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act. Signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine on March 28, 2025, S.B. 1 requires colleges and universities to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I.) initiatives as well as restricts teaching on “controversial” topics such as gender and sexuality.
During a special Faculty Senate meeting on Monday, June 30, Provost Nigamanth Sridhar confirmed that CSU is reviewing and scrubbing its website to comply with S.B. 1’s prohibition of D.E.I. initiatives. References to past D.E.I. programs will either be removed or explicitly labeled “no longer active.”
CSU President Laura Bloomberg addressed the law prior to its effective date at a faculty meeting in April 2025.
“We will comply,” Bloomberg said. “What we won’t do is compromise our mission, the strategic plan that says we are Cleveland’s university, which means that we’re situated in a city and pledging to serve a city where the majority of people identify as a member of a minoritized group.”
The removal of the Center and related webpages leaves questions on how Cleveland State will continue supporting LGBTQ+ students and other marginalized groups. As of September, no replacement office, resource list or interim plan has been outlined.
For now, CSU’s queer community is relying on student organizations to fill the gap.
“The only reason we still have community is because student org[anization]s like QSA aren’t affected by the law,” said Hope Rodgers, a student leader of the Cleveland State’s Queer Student Association (QSA). “If they ever restricted clubs, that would change everything.”
Rodgers said the lack of communication from CSU has left students in the dark about what support, if any, will remain.
“When the Center was closed the first week, I had multiple students ask me what was happening, and I honestly knew as little as they did,” she said. “CSU isn’t telling us anything. Legally, staff can’t even talk to me about it.”
The Cauldron reached out to the Office of Protected Rights, formerly the Office of Institutional Equity, to request comment on the subject, with no response.
Despite the cuts, student-run organizations work to provide resources and community to queer students.
The LGBTQ+ center, The Mayerjoyce Green Office Women’s Center, and the Office of Multicultural Resources were all combined into the student-led “Student Center”.