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“I didn't find my 'niche' (did I even tho lol) until like halfway through my time there, anyway. [...] Maybe they'll talk to soemoen who lets them know that a particular school has a great support system in place for certain things or smth, that could be helpful to know. [...] But I also want to point out that - through all the terrible things that DID happen, there were also things that warmed my heart or whatever ya know cuz like, its not like everyone was just sitting around like "lol okay bad things happened." There were people getting stuff done, showing what it means to stand up, for so many of the incidents.”

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“For me, it was the strangest contradiction. Yes, UCI was the place where I felt - more than I ever had up to that point - extremely an other. But I guess because of that, I found a community of people I trusted to get through it with. That's why I joined iRise worked with admissions and recruiting Black students. So that those who do choose to take advantage of the opportunities UCI does have to offer, have each other to get through all they have to go through to do so.“

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“Although I can't speak for all the people or classes, I thought the BSU and faculty at UCI were very welcoming and accepting. Despite the rest of the campus being anti-black, it was a really affirming space.” 

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