As the people of Puerto Rico still work to repair their homeland, the University of Central Florida will soon have to deliver on their promise to provide their students tuition at in-state prices.
On Wednesday September 27, the University of Central Florida’s Board of Trustees approved in-state tuition for Puerto Rican students who should find themselves in Florida because of Hurricane Maria. The same policy was also adopted by Valencia and Seminole State Colleges.
As two weeks have passed, much attention has been given to the idea from both outside and within UCF. Viewed as an act of impulsive understanding, the University now moves into action and plans for the incoming expansion of its Puerto Rican student body.
Dr. Cyndia Muñiz, Assistant Director of Multicultural Academic and Support Services, has been answering more and more phone calls from these future UCF Knights as news of the tuition eligibility spreads; the calls, she says, are mostly about questions that can be answered by accessing an FAQ page developed especially for eligible students.
“Step one is this: you apply to UCF,” Muñiz usually tells them. “If you’re accepted, then you get a UCF ID number, and then that helps us look into each student’s specific case and make referrals as needed. I’m happy to try to assist them and I point them in the direction of the web page so make sure that they’re aware of that information because it’s laid out for them there.”
Undergraduate Admissions developed this page to inform soon-to-be students affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Info on retrieving transcripts and transferring credit hours, attaining student housing, how much everything will cost, and other important topics are covered.
“Community is one of the tenants of the UCF creed, our University is very committed to diversity and inclusion so this is just another piece of the puzzle with the work we do on a daily basis,” Muñiz explained. “As a Puerto Rican myself, I have a special interest in helping however possible. No matter what comes our way, we just have to take it day by day, semester by semester.”
The phrase “semester by semester,” despite its optimism, is somewhat burdened by the lifespan of the tuition policy itself, one not to be carried out beyond Spring 2018. As of now, incoming students have just one spring semester to make the best of their UCF experience before tuition rises up once again to out-of-state costs.
This has left some students hesitant to apply for admission. Many are unsure if they want to go to a school for just one semester, they want to know if the Board of Trustees plans to extend the deadline.
“That’s something to take into consideration,” says Muñiz, ” many of these students want to stay here and want to continue their education here because it’s going to take time for Puerto Rico in general to get back to normal.”
On October 12, Muñiz will represent M.A.S.S. in a round-table conversation with all departments involved specifically with the admission of new Puerto Rican students, including voices from Admissions, Financial Aid, and the Registrar’s office. The meeting’s purpose is to share information and advice specialized to their fields, to “bring it to the table” as Muñiz puts it, making sure that everyone’s on the same page and prepared to support the new students efficiently by working together.
JUNTOS will also be attending this meeting. As UCF’s Latino Leadership council of representatives from UCF’s Hispanic/Latino registered student organizations, at the meeting they are expected to collaborate with faculty members to humanize their academic plans, tuning them to the anticipated needs of the new Puerto Rican students. During the weeks of recovery, JUNTOS has been supportive of many student-led efforts to aid Puerto Rico.
Pierro Castillo, President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at UCF, has recently had help from JUNTOS.
“When [Maria] happened, we started a Puerto Rico drive with JUNTOS because Region 4 [of SHPE] is in Puerto Rico,” Castillo told us. “We have no contact with them. All we’ve heard is that there hasn’t been power yet. We want to support them, but the only thing we’ve gotten into is the drive and a GoFundMe. We haven’t been able to do more than that.”
Castillo was joined in his office by David Betancourt, President of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ UCF chapter and native Puerto Rican. He described his family’s experience.
“Some of [my family] just got light and water, so it’s improving, but it’s still really hard,” Betancourt describes. “It’s sad. There, when something falls down, they never fix it, so imagine everything falling at the same time.”
Puerto Rico was brought to its knees by Hurricane Maria on September 20. In facing the hurricane, clearing debris, and rebuilding, the island has collectively shed blood, sweat, and tears in that order. However the will of the people is stronger than their trees and houses, it’s indestructible. For the distraught, Muñiz has a message: “Pa’lante.”
“Pa’lante for Puerto Ricans means keep moving forward, keep going,” Muñiz implores. “I know that it’s rough, this college thing is very much a roller coaster, you’re gonna have your highs and your lows and so you just have to keep pressing on – here at UCF we say ‘charge on,’ but you have to keep moving forward, you know? Do the best that you can.”
The incoming student FAQ can be accessed at admissions.ucf.edu/hurricanes
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