Towards the end of the Spring 2018 semester, applications opened up for the CUNY Service Corps Puerto Rico Trip, an all-expenses-paid volunteer Summer program which tasked students with working alongside other relief groups as part of the “New York Stands with Puerto Rico” rebuilding and recovery effort, initiated by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Volunteers from Queens College were joined by President Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, himself a Puerto Rican native, to assist in bringing aid to residents of the island in the wake of the Hurricanes Irma and Maria destruction. Though many organizations part of this larger initiative remain at work in Puerto Rico, the Service Corps program ended in August,…
-
-
New York State Picks up FEMA’s slack
In late September 2017, Hurricane Maria bore down on the U.S. island territory of Puerto Rico, knocking out power, destroying homes, and reaping an estimated death toll of about three thousand souls. The destruction motivated more than 135,000 Puerto Ricans to flea the island, and relocate to the mainland United States. Many US citizens have criticized the Federal government’s response to the catastrophe for not being of sufficient scale and speed. USA Today reported that six months after the hurricane struck, 200,000 families still lacked electricity. A year has passed and public buildings like hospitals are still damaged, isolated areas are still without water, and the electric grid is…
