Here are some of the news you might have missed last week:
UPR Río Piedras opens a web portal to reserve study spaces
Students at the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Campus will be able to reserve study spaces, use computers, print or visit administrative offices through the newly opened web portal, «IUPI Citas», starting September 14th.
Gallitos and Jerezanas will be able to make their reservations at citas.uprrp.edu.
Students report floods in RCM
A student from the Medical Sciences Campus (RCM, in Spanish) of the University of Puerto Rico reported, through Twitter, flooded laboratory rooms at the School of Dental Medicine after heavy rains last Thursday.
Some faults within the roof’s drainage system caused water to flood into several floors of the institution, as confirmed by the RCM administration in written statements.
Graduate students complained that the RCM administration has never fixed the structural deficiencies that the campus has had for years.
Students criticize precarious studying conditions at the UPR in Bayamón
Undergraduate students at the University of Puerto Rico in Bayamón reported taking classes last week in closed rooms, without air conditioning, while using limited gowns, masks and face shields.
Several students alleged that the problem of lack of ventilation in the classrooms began on August 17.
Likewise, a student confirmed that the university’s administration hasn’t implemented the necessary measures to renovate structures that wouldn’t place the health and academic performance of the student body at risk.
Congresswomen propose a bill to define Puerto Rico’s political status
Two congresswomen of Puerto Rican descent, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Nydia Velázquez, proposed a bill that would create a Constitutional Assembly of Status to help define Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States.
The legislation ignited a debate in the United States Congress about the island’s political situation.
Alarming increase in COVID-19 outbreaks
The Municipal System for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing of Puerto Rico (SMICRC)’s first contact tracing data shows that more than 90 percent of the outbreaks were not associated with travelers, demonstrating a complex transmission framework notably different from previous months.
Epidemiologists and scientists insist on the implementation of educational campaigns and reinforcement of data collection due to the rise in community transmission that was evidenced by the first municipal tracking report of the virus.
IUPI students are awarded at the Rincón International Film Fest
Two short films, both produced as part of the courses Film Production I and Film Production II at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus’ School of Communication, were awarded by the Rincón International Film Fest, one of the most prestigious film festivals in the country.
Both award-winning productions, “400 pétalos” y “Antes de la fiesta”, emerged last semester as part of one of the courses directed by the Film Production professor Carlos García Arce.
