Dear Supporters of UVS and Maguire Village,

Thank you for signing our petition to protect our international village community and its historic trees at UF!  We have had some excellent news coverage recently, including a story by WCJB Gainesville, but unfortunately, the Alachua Commission still decided against us and approved UF's Campus Development Agreement (CDA) after UF made several false statements and empty promises.  But all is not lost, because the Gainesville City Commission meets Thursday (1/6/22) to decide whether or not to approve UF's plan to tear down our homes, and you once again have a chance to help by providing public comment.

We need people to flood them with comments in opposition to Item BD-1 because UF's CDA plan calls for the needless destruction of Maguire Village and UVS, and their suggested alternative of an off-campus partnership which raises our rents 50%, has no parking, and is not family-friendly can never replace the perfectly livable community we already have.  UF has no studies showing that our 44 buildings are not fine as they are, so we reject any statement that they "must" come down.

To comment, you may either: show up in person (to the City Hall Auditorium at 10am on Thursday) to speak in person on the issue, provide an eComment on the City's agenda page, call in via phone (1-800-742-1099) at the 10am early public comment time or during the item discussion to vocalize your views, or send an email to the City Commissioners (citycomm@cityofgainesville.org).  The ask is simple -- that the Commission NOT APPROVE the CDA with UF unless either: 1) the Commission amends the motion on the CDA with the requirement to save Maguire/UVS, or 2) UF removes the demolition plans from their plan.

Losing a community like Maguire/UVS is not just about housing, but about doing what is morally right by not taking away what little community spaces vulnerable international students have on campus.  It is a historically and culturally significant place, and should be saved for future generations to enjoy.  Our homes are worth more than the empty recreation fields and parking lot UF is proposing to replace them with.  Please continue to speak out on the issue when you can, and share our Petition with everyone you know.

Thank you again for your support!