Keeping up with the news is no simple task during the COVID-19 pandemic. In case some of these news stories got lost within a sea of notifications, here’s a brief summary:
UPRM creates first Food Science Bachelor’s Degree program in Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus (UPRM), will offer the very first academic program to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science in Puerto Rico. Counting with a multidisciplinary study program, the degree will form part of the College of Agricultural Sciences’ academic offering.
After the proposed study program is approved by the UPR’s Governing Board, the degree will be submitted for certification by Puerto Rico’s Postsecondary Institution Board.
Students implement agroecology efforts to conserve Puerto Rico’s natural resources
In response to the increasing erosion of Puerto Rico’s land, students, and professionals in the field of Agroecology have pushed for sustainable agricultural practices to promote healthier ecosystems.
Persecution over political affiliations in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico’s history is littered with illegal practices of persecution over political ideologies.
Government policies such as Law 53 (the Gag Law) and police blacklisting of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement provoked decades of suffering, paired with thousands of Puerto Ricans losing their jobs and any opportunity of progress due to their ideals.
UAGM will offer hybrid courses in August
Ana G. Méndez University (UAGM, in Spanish) announced that their next semester will run online except for some courses that will include in-person sessions.
First-year students will be able to take hybrid courses starting August 30th, according to the institution’s president, José F. Méndez Méndez, in a letter addressed to the college community.
More than a life companion: a guide for a blind young woman
As a way of adapting to day to day life, Kristal Collazo García, a blind student recently admitted to the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, walks with a guide dog to lead her way and avoid obstacles.
July 21st is International Dog Day, a date which many with furry companions consider important, but in Collazo García’s case, a dog is also a service helper.
Lack of communication over payments to students working at the UPR
Students belonging to the Federal Work and Study Program and other work programs at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, faced uncertainty concerning their payments for the remainder of the semester after the institution closed its gates last March due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
UPR students and employees receive leaked private information in their Microsoft 365 accounts
Students and employees at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) reported having access to private information belonging to employees, other students, and some of the UPR’s administrative offices on their recently created Microsoft 365 accounts during a digital platform transition from Google Suite towards Microsoft.
Although the president of the UPR, Jorge Haddock Acevedo, dismissed worries about the process and justified it as a solution to security concerns during last semester, many groups of students and professionals are against the transition due to a steep learning curve, excessive costs during times of austerity measures, and a lack of transparency with the community.
One year after the controversial laws that Ricky Rosselló signed before leaving office
During his last hours at La Fortaleza, right before his historic resignation, then governor Ricardo Rosselló signed 66 laws with potentially controversial outcomes, as observed a year later.
Out of the 66 laws, Rosselló signed 58 statutes in a single day on the night right before he left on August 1st.
Experts recommend virtual practices to continue for choirs due to COVID-19
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the epidemiologist Melissa Marzán Rodríguez from the Ponce Health Sciences University recommended that choirs should avoid in-person rehearsals, among other suggestions made during the web-conference «Challenges of choral music amidst COVID-19» last July 23rd.
Marzan Rodríguez explained that the conglomeration of people permits the infection of the virus through the possibility of aerosol transmission.
UPR celebrates 2020 graduates
After postponing graduation ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UPR transmitted «We achieved it together!» a special event to celebrate the achievements of 9,339 graduates.
The activity was transmitted last Thursday, July 23rd through WIPR, the university’s web platforms, and through Radio Universidad.
