CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The UNC Charlotte Student Senate voted to gauge the student body’s opinion regarding keeping Jerry Richardson’s name on its football stadium.
This decision follows the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees’ vote to leave Richardson’s name on the stadium and field following allegations of sexual misconduct brought against Richardson in 2017.
“We as students and Student Senate would like to move forward into looking into things on our own terms,” said Matthew Basel, speaker of the Student Senate.
Basel said student input was not a part of the trustees’ decision, and he said the resolution that passed on Thursday will allow Student Senate to survey the student body.
“We want to take things very slow because this is a very sensitive subject and Jerry Richardson has, in fact, helped this community a lot,” Basel said. “So we want to make sure we have all the facts, and we truly do have the student body’s input.”
UNC Charlotte's football stadium is named after Richardson, who donated $10 million to help start the Charlotte 49ers football program.
UNC Charlotte adopted a policy in 2016 that allows the university to remove naming rights from a facility or program if the person it is named after is convicted of illegal activity or engages in conduct that hurts the University’s reputation. However, the agreement with Richardson in 2013 predates the policy.
Niayai Lavien, student body president who participates as a voting member of UNC Charlotte’s Board of Trustees, read a statement at the Student Senate meeting Thursday saying, “…the Board of Trustees believed that it is in the best interest of the University, including the study body, to maintain the naming agreement…”
