Students at Lebanon Valley College in Annville have called on administrators to make policy changes that benefit "marginalized groups" on campus, including minorities, the disabled, gay and transgender.

They have also demanded administrators rename "Lynch Memorial Hall," citing the word's racial connotations, by either removing it or adding the first name of the former college president for whom it is named.

Dr. Clyde A. Lynch

The latter, included in a list of demands presented to school officials Friday, has provoked strong reaction on social media, where users argue that the college building, named for former school president Dr. Clyde A. Lynch, should remain unchanged.

On pennlive.com, commenters, some of them former graduates of the private liberal arts college, expressed strong sentiments on the subject and argued against Dr. Lynch's inclusion in a debate about larger issues of civil rights building on campuses nationwide.

"PReichelderfer" writes: "This is absurd. I'm all about being inclusive and bringing diversity to the Valley, but this is illogical, irrational, and ridiculous. It is self-caricature. President Lynch got the Valley through one of its darkest periods and died serving the college he loved. It's Lynch Memorial Hall; anyone who would think that has anything to do with lynching is an abject fool."

"Sitkor" writes: "Lynch helped raise a boatload of money for that time. All these protesting clowns are doing is biting their noses off to spite their face. If I am a donor and have a penchant for a large gift and a naming opportunity, I may look elsewhere for a legacy gift. Protestors = the uninformed informed."

"wishfulthinking" writes: "Good grief... As a graduate of LVC, I apologize for this foolishness (the Lynch building name change issue). The thought that Mr. Lynch's name (that incidentally has absolutely nothing to do with the horrors inflicted upon African Americans) is somehow offensive, is absurd, poorly thought out, and clearly arises from a fevered imagination."

"areweserious2015" writes: "They toured the campus prior to selecting the school. The tour includes a walk-through of Lynch. No one forced them to go to a small, predominantly white, liberal arts college in Annville, PA. If they don't like it, they should transfer."

Others supported the students and their goals.

In response to an earlier story about a campus equality forum held Friday, commenter "11223344" called the students, "my highly intelligent and brave former classmate(s) who are simply trying to improve my alma mater. Please do not spread your hatred upon a situation you do not even know."

The commenter added, "Yes, it is always brave to speak up for what you believe in. Especially when there are a bunch of people like you (other commenters) who will just attack them without having personal experience in the matter."

But even some who support the students in their demands for a more inclusive curriculum or diverse faculty at Lebanon Valley College, say the Lynch Hall demand remains a solution in search of a problem.

According to its website, Dr. Lynch led the college through the Great Depression and World War II, helping to raise $550,000 for a new physical education building which was named for him following his death.

The building, which housed the college's basketball court for more than 50 years, was "revitalized" into an all-academic center in 2003, now known as Lynch Memorial Hall.

And while the student organizers behind Friday's list of demands have said they'd be willing to settle for adding Lynch's first name and middle initial to the building instead of removing it altogether, they maintain that as is, the name harkens back to a period in American history when Blacks were widely killed by public hangings and "Lynch Mobs."

According to Oxford Dictionary, the term "Lynching" has origins in the War of American Independence (1775-83) or more specifically with a Captain William Lynch of Pittsville, Virginia, who headed a self-constituted court with no legal authority that persecuted suspected British loyalists.

"People called this illegal punishment Lynch's law or lynch law," the resource states. "The penalties handed out were beatings or tarring and feathering, but by the mid-19th century to lynch a supposed offender was generally to hang him."

And while student organizers at Lebanon Valley College indicated a willingness to compromise, many critics remained unappeased.

"This would be funny if it weren't a sad statement on the lack of rational thought of a particular segment of our society," a commenter going by the screen name "Fallout" wrote on pennlive.com Tuesday.

Meanwhile, attempts to discuss the controversy with the student organizers behind the demand remain unsuccessful.