Tree planting honors Pulse victims

Students and employees plant three fig trees near the Latino Cultural Center in honor of the victims of the June 12 Pulse nightclub shooting.

More than 100 UIC students, faculty and staff gathered June 14 for a tree planting event to remember the victims of the June 12 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando — the deadliest mass shooting in the United States, which left 49 people dead and 53 wounded.

People in attendance mourned and honored the victims at the commemorative event by reciting their names, planting three fig trees, and writing and displaying messages of love, peace and support.  The event was organized by the UIC Heritage Garden and Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change.

“Our campus cares about diversity and inclusion,” said Jocelyn Munguía, a student organizer. “It’s important to make a statement that we stand with them and that hate will not be tolerated on this campus.”

The fig trees can be found outside of the north wall of the Rafael Cintrón Ortiz Latino Cultural Center and in the planters near the Richard J. Daley Library and Student Center East.