Update, July 20: In a statement, the HUB’s Paul Robeson Cultural Center confirmed it’s removing a Fidel Castro quote because it unintentionally created an “unwelcoming environment” and conflicted with university values.

The center said its Student Liaisons Advisory Board chose the quote in 2018 because it recognized social progress. Moving forward, student liaisons will work to find a new expression that conveys “the intended message of equity and justice,” the center said.

Additionally, several student organizations spoke out against the quote’s “rapid” removal. The university’s Latino, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American, and Black caucuses issued a joint statement Tuesday criticizing Penn State’s removal process, noting administrators spent “minimal thought and time” evaluating the scenario.

The three caucuses did not say Penn State should keep the Castro quote up in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. Instead, they’re asking for a public apology and a deeper explanation behind a lack of student involvement in the removal.

Original Story: Penn State will abruptly remove a Fidel Castro quote from the HUB’s Paul Robeson Cultural Center following outcry surrounding the former Cuban leader.

The removal was prompted by this letter drafted by Erik Suarez, an international student from Venezuela. The message claims the quote misrepresents Castro’s “infamous legacy” and “ignores” values Penn State strives to embrace.

Earlier this week I raised my concerns to @penn_state regarding a Fidel Castro quote on campus.

A group of campus leaders and I joined to make a formal request to take out this quote. Today I can happily say that there would be no more Fidel Castro at Penn State. Letter below. pic.twitter.com/6vgFzscVHC

— 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐤 𝐒𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐳 Φ (@eriksuarezn) July 17, 2021

“The people of Cuba have spoken as they chant in the streets all across the island the same message: ‘Libertad,'” the letter reads. “Here at Penn State, we must join their claims in support of freedom [by] doing the little we can to support the Cuban people in their struggle — [getting] rid of the figure and spread of Castro’s image on campus buildings.”

Castro, who died in 2016, led Cuba with single-party authoritarian rule from 1959 to 2008. His quote displayed in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center is as follows:

“The equal right of all citizens to health, education, work, food, security, culture, science, and wellbeing, that is, the same rights we proclaimed when we began our struggle, in addition to those which emerge from our dreams of justice and equality for all inhabitants of our world, is what I wish for all.”

Fidel Castro

Seven individuals signed the letter, which misidentified the space as the “Paul Robertson” Cultural Center. The message gained endorsements from three students who claim to be victims of socialism, communism, or authoritarianism in Venezuela, Cuba, and Spain. The letter was also signed by a UPUA representative, Penn State College Republicans’ president, and members of two other conservative organization chapters on campus.

Notably, the letter did not receive support from any Paul Robeson Cultural Center staffers or liaisons. Members of Penn State’s multicultural caucuses were also not represented.

In a statement, Penn State said it agreed with concerns raised by the letter and will remove the quote.

“The presence of the quote has just come to the University’s attention from a student who expressed concern. We agree with the concerns, and the quote is being removed,” a Penn State spokesperson wrote in a statement. “We also have reached out directly to inform the student who raised the concern that this is the University’s decision.”

It’s not clear if the Paul Robeson Cultural Center was involved in the university’s decision. At this time, it’s also unclear when the planned removal would occur.

Suarez, the 22-year-old student behind the letter, told Fox News that the displayed Castro quote was “a big shock.”

“I wasn’t expecting to see in Penn State a quote from this dictator that had been repressing the people of Cuba for more than six decades and who was the inspiration for the regime that is repressing my country right now,” Suarez told Fox News. “There was a lot of feelings in that moment because I love my school. My school has given me a lot of opportunities, and I have a deep connection with it. Watching it display a Fidel Castro quote hit hard, and it was very shocking for me.”

The quote’s announced removal comes at the same time that anti-government protests spread across Cuba. President Biden said Monday the United States stands by Cubans following the “decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba’s authoritarian regime.”

The Paul Robeson Cultural Center’s origins date back all the way to 1972. The organization hosts cultural programs and activities on campus and aims to serve students through “the development of character, conscience, and social responsibility through fostering identity development, social justice, and inclusion.”