Daniel Johnson and his friends at Birmingham-Southern College were enjoying their spring break when they heard the news that their school was closing.

They had just completed their midterms, and for the most part, the semester felt as normal as it could, despite a monthslong battle between the college and the state legislature happening in the background.

The small liberal arts college announced Tuesday afternoon that it would close on May 31, citing a lack of support for a new loan bill that would give the 168 year-old private school a lifeline to stay open.

“It didn’t feel like it was real when I saw the news today,” Johnson said, noting efforts from staff to keep student activities running as planned.

Johnson, a senior and the vice president of the student government, had just finished organizing a “wellness week” to emphasize mental health. He invited friends from other schools to attend the college’s spring concert. He was looking forward to graduation in the spring.

“The vibes until today at one o’clock felt like normal school, normal college as it should be,” he said. “But I’m just worried what everyone’s going to feel like. I hope people still go to class. I hope professors, they’re still focused on school… It’s just upsetting and just sad.”

In a message to the campus community Tuesday, school leaders said they were working to help students and staff assess their options in the weeks ahead.

“This is a tragic day for the College, our students, our employees, and our alumni, and an outcome so many have worked tirelessly to prevent,” read a letter from Rev. Keith D. Thompson, the chair of BSC Board of Trustees. “We understand the devastating impact this has on each of you, and we will now direct our efforts toward ensuring the smoothest possible transition for everyone involved.”

The announcement comes after 18 months of twists and turns in the school’s journey to secure state funding.

Last summer, after hearing encouraging news from the legislature, college leaders teared up as they announced the school would stay open. In a heartfelt announcement that day, some students cried, some fell to the floor, and some rushed to text their friends the news.

Days later, Gov. Kay Ivey approved a loan program that would provide just enough money, $30 million, to keep the school afloat. School leaders said they have raised about $46 million toward the college’s $200 million endowment goal.

But in October, the school announced that State Treasurer Young Boozer III denied the loan. Boozer claimed the college didn’t meet the qualifications of the program and said providing the school a loan would be a “terrible credit risk” for the state.

The school sued Boozer, but the suit was dismissed.

Students, who had looked forward to another year on campus, found themselves scrambling to make choices about their future.

Johnson himself helped organize a student trip to Montgomery last November in an attempt to persuade Boozer to accept the loan application. Nearly 50 students showed up, saying they’d have few options if the school shut down this year.

Kristen Sorrell, a transfer student, said she couldn’t afford to go through the process again. Nadia Fokkens, a sophomore from South Africa, was also worried she would be forced into a financial bind if she lost her scholarships.

Matthew Dale, a Bush Hills native, said he virtually grew up on campus, where staff members acted as mentors and coaches to him at a young age. The senior Black studies major hoped to one day come back to the school as a professor.

“This is my home, this is my community, this is my family,” he said last fall. “Our closure would displace hundreds of beautiful people, leave a vacancy in the heart of Birmingham, and stunt the growth of the city altogether.”

After news of the potential closure broke in 2022, Johnson and most of his peers submitted at least one transfer application to another school. Johnson applied to four.

“I feel like I’m in quicksand,” Johnson told AL.com in November. “It’s like I had my chance to get out, but now I’m in too deep.”

One school even gave him a scholarship offer that matched his current aid at Birmingham-Southern, but he turned it down. Now, he’s just grateful he’s graduating a year early, he said.

Local leaders on Tuesday lamented the loss of the school, calling the closure a “heartbreaking” decision that would impact the city and the state for years to come.

President of the Birmingham City Council Darrell O’Quinn said the closure was “profoundly distressing” for the surrounding community, which will now be living next to an empty college campus.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell, whose chief of staff and legislative aide are BSC graduates, said Tuesday that she would do what she can to help mitigate the loss.

“While no one had hoped for this outcome, the failure of state leaders to do their part and provide assistance to BSC is particularly disappointing,” she wrote in a statement. “It remains my belief that the cost of such an investment would be small relative to the tremendous benefits of keeping the college open.”

Professors and advisors have been meeting with students all year to help them prepare for a possible closure, and leaders plan to continue those conversations. Seniors who plan to complete their degrees in the summer of 2024 will be able to finish their classes online or through agreements with other institutions, officials said.

But finding housing and financial aid will remain a challenge for many students, officials said. And some underclassmen and student athletes are still wondering what their next steps are.

“It was kind of tough to hear that because I thought I’d have another year left,” Ben Bambrey, a junior football player from Chattanooga, said of the news.

Bambrey said he won’t be playing sports next year. For now, he’s looking to finish his degree back home in Tennessee.

“I know a lot of people are in the same situation that are juniors here,” he said. “It’s a lot of trouble getting one more year to play and a lot of people are just going to end up hanging it up because of it.”

For Johnson, it helped to have friends nearby to process the news.

“Eventually something was going to happen, whether it be good or bad,” he said.

“It’s just good that we’re with each other at least.”