Roo Plaza opens with a vibrant celebration

  UMKC hosted a party on Tuesday, April 15 to celebrate the opening of Roo Plaza.

  The new gathering space on 51st Street between Cherry Street and Rockhill Road opened months after UMKC shut off vehicular traffic. The redesign was created to help students have a place for themselves.

  “This should not be a place where cars are driving,” said Chancellor Mauli Agrawal. “This will be your place in the middle of this campus.”

  The street-wide celebration featured food trucks, photo ops and giveaways for everyone to enjoy. It included chairs, tables and string lights alongside a ‘Roo Plaza’ street sign.

  Featured guest speakers included Linda Hall Library CEO Eric Dorfman and SGA president Yasmen Hassen. Hassen highlighted her hopes for the plaza, wanting it to become a third space for students.

“Roo Plaza was built with purpose. It offers not only a place to walk safely between classes, but a space to pause, connect and recharge,” said Hassen. “Whether you’re grabbing lunch, studying outdoors or just enjoying the energy of campus life, this space was designed to meet you there.”

  The plaza has yielded mixed opinions from students, with some remaining upset that the street is closed for cars.

  “I used to be dropped off on that street to see my academic advisor in Scofield,” said senior history major Hunter Melloway. “It’s incredibly annoying that it’s been shut down. What was once convenient isn’t anymore.”

  Agrawal noted that the university would be accepting feedback to further improve the plaza.

  “I do encourage everyone, especially students, to give us feedback as we further evolve this over the next few years,” said Agrawal. “There’s a lot of potential here.”

bo4td@umsystem.edu