“Thank you for all the memories,” Ornella Saragusti wrote in chalk on the wall of her home away from home Saturday.
“I can be my truest form of myself here,” the 18-year-old UF economics freshman said.
After decades across from UF, the Institute of Black Culture and the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, known as the IBC and La Casita, will undergo renovations near the end of the semester, said Gabe Lara, the director of Hispanic and Latino Affairs.
Some students who found a home at the buildings said goodbye to the IBC on Friday and La Casita on Saturday, located at 1510 and 1504 W. University Avenue, respectively.
“We’re not going away,” said Diana Moreno, the assistant director of Multicultural and Diversity Affairs. “It’s a see you later.”
The new, larger facilities will have updated technology and more accessibility for disabled students, Moreno said.
Construction, which will cost about $5 million, will end Spring 2018, Lara said.
Those involved with the programs appreciate the university’s commitment to improving the buildings — especially since UF is still predominantly white, Moreno said.
Ashley White, a 20-year-old UF food and resource economics junior, said the program’s current relationship with UF is a stark contrast to when the IBC was founded. In 1971, during events known as Black Thursday, students demanded space on campus by occupying UF President Stephen O’Connell’s office, leading to the arrest or suspension of 67 people.
Students also fought for La Casita, which opened in 1994. Rosana Resende, a UF Latin American Studies professor, said it was “born of fire and activism.”
White said UF’s help with renovations show IBC and La Casita are being taken seriously.
“It gives us something to look forward to in the future with race relations on campus,” White said.
On Friday, Dale McPherson, the Black Student Union president in 1972 when the center opened, reflected on the time surrounding Black Thursday.
McPherson said students knew O’Connell, after whom UF named its O’Connell Center, wouldn’t be understanding. He said when O’Connell was a judge, he ruled against UF’s integration.
“We didn’t have any particular hope about dealing with him,” McPherson said.
Vee Byrd, the director of Black Affairs, plans to maintain the IBC’s hard-fought history. The renovated building will have a room to hold scrapbooks and declarations from decades ago.
“We’re able to honor our rich history and honor those who fought, literally fought so hard, for us to have this facility,” Byrd said.
Students at IBC and La Casita said farewells with feelings of unease. Meriza Candia, a 22-year-old political science junior, said she hopes the new buildings have the same warmth, which carried many through laughter and tears.
“I want the same feeling to be there,” she said “I don’t want it to be just another building.”
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Gabriel Costa, a 20-year-old UF music performance and nutrition sophomore, paints the flag of Brazil onto his hand to decorate the front of La Casita. Students left their handprints on the building as a final farewell.
