Trung Tran remembers June 12, 2016, clearly.
As a night owl, Tran recalls his phone continuously ringing as friends and loved ones called to make sure he was OK after a shooting took place at Pulse nightclub, a popular LGBTQ+ club in Orlando.
Tran, a 21-year-old UF computer engineering senior from Orlando, said he was glad he was in Gainesville at the time.
“It was really scary because a lot of my friends were worried something happened to me,” he said.
On Monday night, about 50 UF students, faculty and Gainesville residents came together in Ustler Hall to sing, talk and recite a poem about how the shooting affected them as either allies for the LGBTQ+ community or members of it.
Vice President for Student Affairs David Parrott spoke to the audience about love and unity defeat ing hate.
“In the aftermath of the attack, it is love that would and will help us overcome,” he said. “In the face of these tragic events, our students, faculty, staff and the community band together to respond to the hate with reaffirming care, support and love.”
After Parrott gave his speech, UF alumna Jessica Grobman spoke to the audience.
“Today I stand here with a heavy heart and a saddened spirit,” she said. “My soul is weary for a community that gives so much in culture, education, beauty, power and knowledge, but is yet time and time again met with hatred and tragedy.”
Grobman read the names of the 49 victims of the shooting, stopping several times to catch her breath and wipe away tears.
She also sang a song about the “injustice the queer community of color faces” on a regular basis. The song included lyrics such as, “I was here, I lived, I loved” and “I will make my mark so everyone will know I was here.”
Once Grobman finished singing, Dr. Zully Rivera-Ramos, who works at UF’s Counseling & Wellness Center, read an excerpt from a message the National Latina/o Psychological Association (NLPA) sent out Monday and asked the audience to reflect on the passage.
The remembrance ended with speakers and audience members hugging and crying tears of both sadness and joy.
UF President Kent Fuchs attended the ceremony as well and said he felt the need to support “our wonderful community that has been affected.”
He said he has a picture of Century Tower lit with rainbow colors framed in his office.
“One of my favorite memories as president was when Century Tower was lit with rainbow colors,” he said.
