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UCF students fight for 1-year extension of in-state tuition waiver for Puerto Rican evacuees

By Lauren Seabrook, WFTV.com
By Lauren Seabrook, WFTV.com
It was day three of classes at the University of Central Florida, and for hundreds of Puerto Rican students who fled the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria, the new semester was a return to some level of normalcy.
Nicole Isidor is a UCF student taking advantage of Gov. Rick Scott’s decision to allow Puerto Rican refugees to be able to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.
Unfortunately, the tuition reduction is only in place for the current semester, leaving Isidor and more than 200 other displaced students wondering what will happen in the fall.
Read: Rep. Soto forms Puerto Rico task force in Central Florida after seeing hurricane damage up close
Formerly a student at the University of Puerto Rico, Isidor said there was no way she could have finished her education there after Hurricane Maria hit.
“We were taking class outside of the building because it had a lot of damage,” she said.
Puerto Rican evacuee, and UCF student, Jeannie Lago described a similar scene at the university.
“A lot of the buildings lost their ceilings,” she said. “So they all got wet, and it’s not a good environment for students, or any human beings, actually.”
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Evacuees are paying $3,000 a semester for in-state tuition at UCF, which is about three times what they paid in Puerto Rico.
If the tuition reduction isn’t extended past the spring semester, evacuees will have to pay out-of-state tuition in the fall, which is about $11,000 a semester.
The UCF Puerto Rican Student Association is pushing for a one-year extension of the in-state tuition plan, so evacuees have time to get back on their feet while still getting an education.
“They’re coming over here to start a new life and get more opportunities,” Association President Jose Rivera said. “They want to stay here. They want to contribute. They want to become successful members of society.”
Read: Puerto Rico governor holds town hall in Kissimmee
The UCF Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on the one-year extension in March.
Isidor was hopeful that the in-state tuition extension would be approved so she could continue pursuing her degree.
“I would love for them to give us the waiver,” she said. “It would be a dream come true, for me and every other Puerto Rican student that is here.”

Cox Media Group

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