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The beige and steel-blue walls of the hallways in 119 Euclid are decorated with paintings and photographs from famous Black artists. The sound of students is constant, especially in the evenings when both floors are packed.

But once you reach the back corner of the second floor, the noise stops. Instead of art pieces, familiar names like “Breonna Taylor” and “Trayvon Martin” are inscribed in white chalk on the matte black walls of a small room. Syracuse University students have added to it with other colors, scribbling phrases like “SAY HER NAME” or names of people they know personally who have died from police brutality or gun violence.

“Having a room where we would constantly be reminded of those lives and those people is just a key part of our history,” said senior Mia Fields, one of the students who pitched the idea for the “Reflection Room.” “Whenever we go into that room, it’s a quiet place for a reason.”

Outside the room is a quote from Maya Angelou that was picked by the students — “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

The opening of 119 Euclid, which celebrates its two-year anniversary Thursday, was a byproduct of the campus largely rejecting attitudes of racism and discrimination on campus — they’d had enough following SU’s handling of a series of on-campus hate incidents.

#NotAgainSU protests started in fall 2019 after at least 32 racist, antisemitic and homophobic incidents occurred on or near Main Campus from that November through March 2020. Students created a list of demands to protect and sustain diversity on campus, and 119 Euclid was born out of those initiatives.

“A lot of students are fed up with repetition, they wanted to see the change,” said senior Malique Lewis, co-founder of the Black Student Union. “119 is definitely a step in pushing forward.”

The anniversary celebrations Thursday will go from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and include a lunch and information session. 119 Euclid started as a safe space for Black students but has since evolved into an educational space, hangout and art museum. The title is also the address, but they are looking for a sponsor to name it after.

Lewis and Field were part of a committee including 10 students and one faculty member who helped design the space. Over a Zoom call in the summer of 2021, the committee figured out how to transform offices formerly occupied by the Department of Public Safety and David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics into a “home,” Fields said.

“In coming to any university place where your numbers are not represented, there can be some kind of imposter syndrome,” Fields said. “Making sure that (119 Euclid) has that warm ambience about it allows students to let their guard down and be able to feel comfortable being themselves.”

Students produced a list of demands, including the creation of 119 Euclid Ave, to protect and sustain diversity on campus after at least 32 racist, antisemitic and homophobic incidents occurred on or near Main Campus from November 2019 through March 2020.

Cassandra Roshu | Photo Editor

Fields said the committee also picked the paintings and photographs put up on the walls around the house. They intentionally selected pieces from local artists or ones that had ties to campus.

One piece, titled “HomeComing,” was created by local artist Jaleel Campbell. Another was called “Lonely Angels,” painted by Ted Ellis and depicting Tuskegee airmen standing in front of a fighter plane. Wilmeth Sidat-Singh, a former Syracuse football and basketball star, was a part of that battalion.

Junior DJ Dumervil said he immediately noticed the piece “The Sugar Shack” when he walked into 119 Euclid for the first time. It was something he has back at home in Miami, Florida.

“The paintings, the infrastructure, the people there,” Dumervil said. “It was all reminiscent of Black culture.”

The design of the building’s exterior was also intentional. Bricks are scattered around the tanbark past the front steps, each painted in different colors and detailed with Greek letters representing the Black fraternities and sororities on campus. Spray-painted on the steps are the words “Black Lives Matter.”

Those words have been there since the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which Lewis took part in. He said the opening was the first time he felt “at home” on campus, appreciating that university leadership like Chancellor Kent Syverud as well as Senior Vice President and Chief Student Experience Officer Allen Groves attended the unveiling.

“There’s obviously so much more to do, but it felt great to cut that ribbon,” Lewis said. “Just to make it to that moment and know that we’re trying to do something better here.”

The first year saw finishing touches put on each part of the house, which includes a social lounge, kitchen, media room and other resources. 119 Euclid has also hosted events like a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration in January, where students of color gathered to talk about navigating a predominantly white institution campus like SU.

“That event had one of the highest turnouts in 119 Euclid,” Fields said. “For the time, I felt like everyone in the room was comfortable speaking their voice and giving their opinion and knowing it was going to be valued and cherished and understood.”

Throughout this past year, Lewis and Fields focused on having more Black student organizations host events in the space and teaching students about its place on campus.

The education is not limited to the space’s existence, but also why it’s there, Lewis said. This is the first year most undergraduate students were not attending the university when #NotAgainSU unfolded. Lewis was in high school, but he spoke to older classmates during his past three years about their time on the frontlines, understanding the importance of the protests.

“Without #NotAgainSU, there would be no 119 Euclid. Without people who even came before that, there would be no 119 Euclid,” Lewis said.

Lewis said the history is not something to shy away from and instead is something that he makes clear to new students.

“We have freshmen coming in, and one of my greatest feelings is they come in and think this was always here,” Lewis said. “Of course we’re going to educate them that this is something new, but we want them to feel like this was always here.”

Dumervil said advertising to Black students around campus is something that 119 Euclid still needs to improve on despite making big strides over this past year. While most First Year Seminar 101 classes are also making trips to space, Lewis urges all non-Black students to take a tour.

“119 is helping us be educated, it’s an academic space too,” Lewis said. “You’re supposed to be learning from people’s cultures and perspectives and if you fail, you’re not making the most of the college experience. Everyone should visit there at least once.”

Published on September 6, 2023 at 11:16 pm

Contact Anish: asvasude@syr.edu | @anish_vasu