The Intercultural Diversity Center, located in the Riverside Annex, is now available to UA students. 

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Feb. 1 for students and Tuscaloosa residents interested in seeing the changes taking place on campus.

The event offered a time for socializing and celebration between students, staff and the community. 

The motive behind the new building stemmed from the We Are Done movement, which promotes equality across campus. Various slideshows and speakers voiced their appreciation for the new building and how they will use it. 

Jahmon Hill, a senior at the University majoring in international affairs, read two pieces to the audience. His first piece portrayed a letter he received from Manley Hall, the building for gender and race studies. He spoke of the irony behind the cultural classes offered in the building that once was “built on the backs of oppressors.” His second piece titled “We Are Done,” explained the need for action in a discriminatory society. In the poem Hill states “awareness is not activism, action is activism.”

David Grady, the vice president of Student Affairs, spoke of his hope for academic success in the building and that it “ensures UA has successful students in a multicultural world.” The ribbon cutting took place after the speakers’ speeches. Once the ribbon was cut people explored the new building. In the building, there is couches available and computers for students to use for school work. The goal of the Intercultural Diversity Center is to unite students and staff of all cultures and make everyone on campus feel welcome in the community. 

For more information, see the CW’s previous article on the center.