Many LSU students and organizations are expressing disapproval and disappointment over the closure of Unity Field for the remaining football season.

Last Thursday, LSU announced it would be closing the tailgate area in an attempt to strengthen game day security and safety, along with adding drone security and closing Highland Road, among other measures. However, many students feel the decision to close the field was unfair and misguided.

The outcry centers around the fact that Unity Field is traditionally where the university’s Black Greek organizations and minority student groups host tailgates.

“I feel like alienating and isolating the majority of the Black student body is not the answer,” said Layla Battley, a music vocal performance senior.

After LSU announced Unity Field’s closure, many students took to social media to show how much Unity Field meant to them, posting pictures and videos with #UnityIsHome. Among them was biological science freshman Emanda Demons, who said she felt very connected there.

Demons said the area brought a sense of community. She said she always wanted to go to a very diverse school, and she said she found that feeling at Unity Field.

Another student, Brooklyn Thornton, shared a statement of her thoughts addressed to LSU in an Instagram post that received over 3,000 likes and 1,400 shares.

“The closure of Unity Field is unjustified and represents a clear attempt to erase Black culture and community from Louisiana State University campus,” Thornton’s post read.

Thornton, an English junior, said she’s been tailgating at Unity Field since her freshman year. She said she’s always felt more included and safe there. To Thornton, the area stands for exactly what it’s named after: unity.

“There’s not a lot of places on campus where you can go and see that much diversity and the culture we have,” Thornton said.

With the closure, Thornton said she feels like LSU is overlooking the Black student body. She said it was unfair to strip it away suddenly.

LSU Interim President Matt Lee said Oct. 16 that, through the university’s investigation, it traced the origin of two recent game day shootings to a “well-defined geographic area,” referring to Unity Field.

One shooting was during LSU’s Homecoming game and occurred at the corner of Highland Road and Dalrymple Drive, resulting in two injuries and the arrest of a 16-year-old. Last month, a shooting happened near the LSU Law Center during the LSU-Florida matchup. Both incidents were around half a mile up Highland Road from Unity Field, and both were closer to the Parade Ground.

“I don’t think they would ever discipline the white fraternities as they do the Black fraternities,” Thornton said.

When asked, Lee denied the idea that the decision targeted Black students at the press conference announcing the changes.

“This isn’t about race,” Lee said. “It’s about place.”

Other groups on campus have weighed in. The Black Student Union released a statement Wednesday saying it was “deeply disappointed” by LSU’s decision and called for “true collaboration and transparency between students and administration to ensure that decisions about campus spaces include the voices of those most affected.”

“We cannot ignore that this decision impacts a space that has long been a symbol of Black community,” the statement read.

A group of Student Government members, led by Black Caucus Chair Chloe Berry, sent a letter to university officials advocating for a “more inclusive LSU.” The letter also referenced the administration’s phasing out of diversity, equity and inclusion programs over the past year.

The activist group LSU Students for a Democratic Society posted an official statement on Instagram that focused on LSU’s treatment of students of color.

“[Unity Field’s] closure is just another example of LSU administration targeting students of color,” SDS’ statement read.

Battley pointed out that instead of just the individuals responsible for the shooting being held accountable, everyone who uses Unity Field is affected by the punishment.

“I feel like now we’re looked at as a collective and we all share responsibility for the actions of that one person,” Battley said.

Battley said tailgating will be a different experience without Unity Field and the community she is usually with. She said it was always a great experience laughing and dancing with people who felt like family.

Many students felt that targeting Unity Field was misguided and that the focus should be on securing LSU’s open campus.

Gigi Cole, a biological engineering senior who’s been tailgating at Unity Field since her sophomore year, said students are not the ones at fault in these incidents — it’s individuals outside the community.

Cole said she wishes the university had attempted to communicate and get students’ input before making the decision to close the area.

“If we took more precautionary steps from the beginning, we wouldn’t have to be reactive now,” Cole said.

While opposing the university’s decision, students also offered alternative solutions to ensure campus safety. Battley proposed giving Black Greek organizations more space to tailgate where they could be more spread out.

She also said checking IDs to make sure people younger than 18 years old are supervised would be a better solution than shutting down a space where Black students feel safe. Battley said safety should be the university’s priority, but that closing the entire area was not a solution to the problem.

For now, students affected by the closure of Unity Field are left wondering where they will go to tailgate the next home game — if they even still choose to.

“I think there are other ways to do that, especially in a way that doesn’t make Black students feel unwelcome on game day,” Battley said.