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Gratitude and excitement spread throughout the front lawn of 119 Euclid Ave. on Tuesday afternoon as Malique Lewis addressed the crowd.

“Those of you that have hope for a better tomorrow, a piece of that is here now,” said Lewis, Student Association’s vice president of diversity and inclusion. “Those of you that have hope for change, a piece of that is here with us today.”

With the official opening of 119 Euclid Ave., a building dedicated to celebrating the Black student experience, Syracuse University has taken a step toward creating a more inclusive environment.

After the #NotAgainSU movement started in fall 2019, students created a list of demands for the university to protect and sustain diversity as well as promote a more inclusive environment. One of the movement’s demands was that the university create safe spaces for multicultural students, said Eboni Britt, executive director of strategic communications at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

“It became evident that a Black student space was really necessary,” Britt said. “The students wanted a place that paid homage to Black bodies lost to violence.”

Lewis also said the opening of the building marks progress for Black students at SU who have been working toward this moment.

This location will serve as a space for students to make and nurture friendships, for community members to understand and learn about the culture of the African diaspora, and for student organizations to gather and “to just be,” Britt said. She said that, although the building has many functions, the main goal is to provide a safe space.

The space is poised to be almost entirely student-run, Britt said, so Black students can cultivate and personalize the space to their personal experience. Students will lead most decisions related to the center, from future events hosted there to the decor throughout the building.

“Everything you see inside is really an outcome of (students’) ideas and thoughts,” said Britt.

119 Euclid’s opening was celebrated as a step towards a more inclusive environment on campus.
Rachel Raposas | Contributing Writer

At the grand opening of 119 Euclid Ave., several SU students and faculty spoke on the impact of having a building specifically dedicated to Black students. The new space both remembers Black history and celebrates the community.

Allen Groves, the senior vice president of student experience congratulated Black students, allies and other speakers on coming together to create such a space.

“The opening of this space marks an important and meaningful celebration of community, belonging, engagement, inclusion and history,” Groves said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “You have made a lasting impact, not just for the coming year but for generations of Syracuse students to come.”

Some speakers highlighted 119 Euclid Ave. as a mark of social progress, while others discussed the emotional experience of watching SU take steps toward inclusion. But they all hope to see the space become an example of inclusivity on campus and see similar spaces open up for other multicultural students.

The messages varied between themes of home and acceptance, but all touched on one common point: this is just the beginning.

“This isn’t the end. This is part of the overall vision,” Britt said.

Published on September 8, 2021 at 12:09 am