Chronicle of Higher Education reporter Fernanda Zamudio-Suarez visited the island of Puerto Rico to see how people were recovering at its most important institution of higher education, the University of Puerto Rico.
Her story – available in both English and Spanish – tells a tale of, as she puts it, “higher education at its most improvised.” The well-being of Puerto Rico is in many ways linked to its cherished university system, and over 120 days after Hurricane María struck the island, neither has recovered substantially. Fernanda humanizes an experience that has been overshadowed in part by high-minded economic debates and low-minded tweets from President Paper Towel. Meanwhile, the people of Puerto Rico attempt to carry on, to get an education, to build a future for themselves against obstacles that feel painfully familiar.
0:00-11:11 – Brief History of Puerto Rico
11:11-44:16 – Interview with Fernanda
44:16-50:21 – Wrap up
READ MORE:
Please read this piece “How to Help the University of Puerto Rico – And How Not To” by Godreau, Bonilla, and Walicek
How Universities Are Trying To Do Right by Puerto Rico (CUNY/Chronicle)
This is the plane my in-laws took to get to the mainland, thanks to JJ Barea and Mark Cuban, and the Dallas Mavericks organization (seriously).
How Dependence on Corporate Tax Breaks Eroded the Puerto Rican Economy (Reuters)
Tax Bill Could be a Big Hit to Puerto Rico’s Economy (NPR)
https://www.npr.org/2017/12/21/572699193/tax-bill-could-be-a-big-hit-to-puerto-ricos-economy
Puerto Rico’s Mass-Migration is Re-Shaping Florida (Bloomberg)
Residente (and my cousin Lilliana) performs “Hijos de Cañaveral” at the Latin Grammys (YouTube)
Animation of the “Political Topography” of the Caribbean, by Rutgers professor Yarimar Bonilla (Vimeo)
Puerto Rico’s University is Paralyzed by Protests and Facing Huge Cuts (NY Times, 5/17)
Forced Sterilization in Puerto Rico (Our Bodies Ourselves)