To honor the lives of immigrants and their families, the Student Government Multicultural Affairs Cabinet and UF Chispas celebrated “I Am An Immigrant” day Wednesday.
The event, held Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Turlington Plaza, brought more than 60 students together to write their favorite quotes about diversity, pose for photos and receive free Hyppo ice pops, said Shannon Pinzon, the Vice President of Internal Affairs at UF Chispas, an organization that advocates for UF immigrant students. The event was part of a national campaign.
Pinzon, a UF economics and political science junior, said the event was important because of the current political climate and white supremacist Richard Spencer’s recent speech at UF on Oct. 19.
“It’s important to remind everyone the diversity that’s in UF and just celebrate that and recognize the sacrifices these people and their families have made at UF and in the country,” the 20-year-old said.
Pinzon said she felt close to the cause because her parents immigrated from Colombia.
“I love learning about new cultures, so I think that any type of event or day that aims to recognize different cultures and celebrate diversity is something that I’m always going to be a part of,” Pinzon said.
Samantha Torres, a UF accounting freshman, said she wanted to support the event’s cause because both of her parents are immigrants from Peru. They came to the U.S. when they were both 17.
“This is actually my mom’s dream school, to come here, but she wasn’t actually able to do it because she had me, so I kind of wanted to be able to come out and represent immigrants,” she said.
Torres said that she carries her mom’s struggle with her every day.
“I don’t take it for granted,” the 18-year-old said. “With my mom and what she went through, I just try a little harder.”
Torres said she enjoys going to meetings with other students who understand her background, like Chispas and the Hispanic Student Association.
“I love coming to these things because I don’t feel like I’m alone here,” she said.
Students line up to write quotes about diversity and immigration that were later hung above the UF Chispas table and tent. After writing a quote, students took a photo and were given a free Hyppo ice pop.
Linh Ngo, a UF art and technology sophomore hangs up a quote about immigration. The 19-year-old said the UF Chispas event interested her because her most of her family immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam.
