Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) will reconsider the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest Hall, currently named after a Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan.

Both students and local politicians have requested the name change in the wake of the deadly shooting a historically black church in Charleston, S.C. Forrest was lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War before becoming the KKK's first Grand Wizard, the title given the group's leader.

Last week, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said in a statement the school would seek input from the campus community regarding the name of the building. The hall was built in 1954 and dedicated four years later. MTSU named the building that would house the school's ROTC program for Forrest because of his tactical prowess as a general.

Debate about the name of Forrest Hall has surfaced periodically through the years," McPhee said in the statement. "In light of the horrific killings in Charleston, and the national discussion that has ensued in the aftermath, it is right and appropriate to revisit this matter with the university community, our alumni and supporters, and state officials, who by law must approve any change."

Shortly after McPhee's announcement, students at MTSU created a Facebook page dedicated to demanding the name change. As of Wednesday, the page has more than 600 likes and the online petition has 200 signatures.

Now, as many states are considering removing the Confederate flag from public places, democrats in Rutherford County are echoing the MTSU students' motion to rename Forrest Hall.

"When a historic person is coopted as a figure and symbol of hate, bigotry and terror, then the state and county should cease to hold such a person in a place of honor," the party said in a statement to the Murfreesboro Post. "For years, Nathan Bedford Forrest has been revered for his role as the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan by white supremacy groups. Middle Tennessee State University and the Rutherford County Courthouse must inspire the best of our humanity and promote the dignity of all citizens."

UNC - Chapel Hill changed the name of a building named after a KKK leader earlier this year, a decision also spurred by opposition from the campus community.