Five multicultural student organizations at the University of Missouri learned they will lose funding starting July 2026.
Organization leaders met with the University of Missouri’s Division of Student Affairs on April 3, where they learned they will no longer receive funding due to a federal memo.
Five school umbrella organizations are impacted: Asian American Association (AAA), Association of Latin American Students (ALAS), FourFront, The Legion of Black Collegians (LBC) and Queer Liberation Front (QLF).
Umbrella organizations are overarching bodies on campus that oversee funding and operations for under-organizations. They have been funded by the Division of Student Affairs since the university disbanded its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office in 2024.
Now, these organizations will be considered Recognized Student Organizations (RSO). These groups are funded by the Organization Resource Group (ORG) office, which serves around 600 other organizations across campus. The money previously allocated for umbrella organizations will go into a shared pool for ORG.
Tanvi Kulkarni is the president of AAA. She says the previous funding model was integral for success.
“Organizations like LBC, ALAS and AAA are huge. A lot of our events consistently pull hundreds of people every year, and we’re going to be on the same standing as other organizations that could have maybe 10 or less people,” Kulkarni said. “There’s a lot of money that goes into it but it goes back to our members through events and experiences.”
The money that umbrella organizations currently have will not roll over into the next fiscal year which starts this July 1. Now, organizations will have to apply for funding during segmented budgeting periods for themselves and under-organizations.
Last month, ORG sent a letter to RSO saying that they ran out of money. Any budget request submitted for the rest of the year would be denied.
Proposed budgets for the next funding period are due this week, but these organizations were given an extension.
“They made us aware of these monumental changes, but they didn’t really pose us with a lot of solutions,” Kulkarni said. “We used to know what our budget was for the entire year but now it’s a rolling basis through six budgeting periods.”
This change also means that Mizzou will no longer recognize LBC as a student government.
LBC President Amaya Morgan said that by redefining the organization, the university is removing legacy.
“It’s taking away everything we’ve worked hard for. It’s disrespectful to the people who came before me,” Morgan said. “LBC is invited to things simply because we are a student government.”
LBC is the first and only Black student governing body in the nation since 1969. However, a decade after antiracism protests swept campus in 2015, data analysis shows that Black student enrollment declined almost 34%.
“Coming here was an extreme culture shock. But when I found LBC, I found my community,” Morgan said. “This just gives me fear for the students that face discrimination. Where will they be able to go?”
Friday’s meeting was communicated as an emergency by Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Dr. Angela King Taylor.
“What student affairs told us is that this decision stems from changes in laws that were made at a federal level,” Kulkarni said. “My understanding is that they were also getting orders to be followed.”
Last July, the Department of Justice published a memo targeting funding distribution under the basis of discrimination. This document bars the use of race identifying words like “Black” or “Asian” when promoting trainings, events and the use of facilities. In 2024, the LBC was forced to change the name of the annual “Welcome Black BBQ” to “Welcome Black and Gold BBQ.”
However, even though this memo is not federal law, during a Q&A with University of Missouri President Mun Choi last year, he cited funding being stripped from other universities as a reason for his approach to free speech on campus.
“There’s so much riding in the words that I use because we’re seeing that it can have dramatic effects,” Choi said. “There are limits to academic freedom enjoyed.”
Since the decision to gut funding, the University has responded by commenting on the Instagram posts of these organizations. In their response, the word “Legion” was misspelled.
“To comply with restrictions issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, the university can no longer allocate funding or space based on protected demographic characteristics,” Mizzou wrote in the Instagram comment. “Accordingly, the university must change the way it has been providing resources to five student affinity organizations: Asian American Association, Association of Latin American Students, Four Front, Legian of Black Collegians and Queer Liberation Front. These organizations will now exist as recognized student organizations and be eligible for funding in the same manner as all other recognized student organizations.”
LBC and ALAS are hosting a private senate meeting and public town hall Monday evening. The public town hall will begin at 7 p.m. in 110 Arts & Sciences Allen Auditorium. It will also be livestreamed on the LBC and ALAS Instagram pages.
“I hope to see community being shared,” Morgan said. “It’s the biggest thing we need right now.”
Morgan added that the LBC is looking to take legal action against this decision. ALAS and AAA said they are waiting to see what happens next.
