Committee seeks to rename College Avenue residence hall

The committee wants to name the hall after an MU minority graduate.

By Melissa Gilstrap

Published March 12, 2010

The Missouri Students Association Multicultural Issues committee discussed a resolution to rename College Avenue residence hall after an influential MU minority graduate.

"Besides black and white, there's been little to no representation for Hispanics or Asians," Chief of Staff Xavier Billingsley said.

The bill discussed by the MCI committee Tuesday was a resolution to dedicate College Avenue residence hall to the first black graduate, Gus T. Ridgel. The MCI committee said it wishes to research more graduates before making a formal decision.

Ridgel was one of the first minorities to be admitted to MU in 1950. He received his master's degree in economics in 1951, making him the first black student to graduate from MU.

"He paved the way for underrepresented minorities, Hispanics, Blacks and underrepresented genders at the University of Missouri-Columbia," Billingsley said.

A graduate student fellowship and a room are dedicated in Ridgel's honor at MU. The Chancellor's Gus T. Ridgel Fellowship awards $10,000 per year to minority graduates pursuing their master’s or doctorate degree. Room 204 South Memorial Union is named the Gus T. Ridgel Room.

College Avenue residence hall was selected for a renaming because of the confusion the name has caused.

"It doesn't make sense to call it College Avenue when half of it is on East Rollins Street," Billingsley said. "That's why we're looking for a name so adamantly."

Billingsley said the resolution to have the residence hall change names has gained support in other student government bodies, such as the Legion of Black Collegians and Four Front.

College Avenue residents are mostly unaware or indifferent to the possible change.

"Changing it would be fine," resident Kate Hoff said.

Hoff said the name College Avenue could sometimes be confused with the street of the same name.

The bill will be discussed further during the next full MSA Senate meeting. Both MCI Committee Chairwoman Alex Holley and Billingsley encouraged other members of MSA to contribute their ideas for a new name.

"We want to do more research and discuss all possible names," Holley said. "I know Elizabeth Vargas was mentioned."

Holley also discussed the MCI committee's first steps in the process of seeing the new name implemented. "We are going to meet with Pablo Mendoza," Holley said.

Mendoza is the assistant director of Student Life and Multicultural Affairs. He also works with multicultural groups, such as Hispanic Americans Leadership Organization and Diversity Peer Educators.

"Pablo is just the person you can go to," Billingsley said. "He knows the history and diversity of the university."

MSA has worked on renaming College Avenue residence hall since 2006, when a joint MSA, Residence Halls Association and LBC initiative attempted to rename College Avenue after Martin Luther King Jr.

"The first legislation was in 2006 where it was proposed to name College Ave after Martin Luther King Jr., but he had no connection to the University of Missouri-Columbia," Billingsley said.

If College Avenue residence hall is renamed, it will be the third building at MU dedicated to a minority. Arvarh E. Strickland Hall and the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center are the first two.

Students in support of the dedication of College Avenue residence hall to a significant minority graduate in MU's history feel it will impact MU in a positive way.

"It will be us taking a stand for something that's a really big deal at our university," Billingsley said.