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LA CASITA, from pg. 6
“We walk in, not out of protest, but we walk in out of appreciation of those who came before us,” Vargas said. “We walk in to learn their stories, to recover their history and to value Latinx lives within the context of the U.S.” After Vargas spoke, the class was led on a tour of La Casita by Hispanic-Latino Affairs ambassador Maria Dominguez, a 19-year-old UF linguistics sophomore, who is also in the class.
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La Casita’s original building opened in May 1994 after Hispanic and Latinx students petitioned for a space they could call theirs, according to the Institute’s website. In 2017, the structure was torn down alongside the UF Institute of Black Culture, and the extensive construction of both buildings cost $9.9 million.
In 2017, UF’s Multicultural and Diversity Affairs department announced plans to combine the two cultural institutes. Many students worried that by combining the houses the university would also be merging their cultures into one. This led students to protest and create a Facebook page called “#NoLaIBCita.” The protests delayed the opening of both buildings by about two years.
“We’re using this space to learn more about Latin America,” Dominguez said. “This is exactly what this space is for: to learn, to interact with others. It’s perfect.”
@kaelyn_cassidy kcassidy@alligator.org
Lily Strickland / Alligator Staff Michael Schmitz, 21-year-old UF international studies junior, walks with Michelle Marino, a 20-year-old UF nutritional sciences junior, from Little Hall to the new La Casita building on Wednesday. Students made the symbolic trek to La Casita to honor student leaders who made their Latinx studies class possible.
Lily Strickland / Alligator Staff Abby Farah, 20-year-old UF international studies sophomore, tours the newly rebuilt La Casita space on Wednesday. “I think it is fantastic that the La Casita space is open to us, especially for this class,” Farah said. “I think it’s going to be really important for us to appreciate the space that the university has provided and that so many students have worked so incredibly hard for.”
