Two weeks ago, the U.S. island territory of Puerto Rico was ravaged by Hurricane Maria, and it’s still a humanitarian disaster. Much of the island is without power and clean water, and many roadways remain impassable. That being the case, law students from the University of Puerto Rico were likely going to have to forfeit the rest of their fall semesters. According to Puerto Rico Law Dean Vivian Neptune Rivera, while the school itself sustained “minimal physical damage,” there is no electricity.
Rather than throwing paper towels at them leaving needy law students in the dark, a consortium of five law schools came together to provide them with real relief.
Thanks to the Florida State University College of Law, the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, the University of Missouri School of Law, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, law students from Puerto Rico Law will be able to complete their fall semesters at no extra charge. Karen Sloan, writing for the Daily Business Review, has the details:
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“[The University of Puerto Rico] decided to work with a handful of schools so their students could go in groups and to make sure we had a plan the ABA would sign off on,” [FSU Law Dean Erin O’Hara O’Connor] said. “They went with the schools that seemed to be offering the most, in terms of being willing to modify the curriculum, provide mentoring, housing, and taking care of some of the other needs.”
The American Bar Association has approved the plan, O’Connor said, and the schools can give Puerto Rican law students reduced credit for courses they join late. The visiting law students are in their second and third years, and many need to complete their fall studies because they have jobs and externships lined up for the spring, O’Connor said.
About 35 students from Puerto Rico Law have taken the law schools up on their offers of assistance, and now it’s just a matter of when they will be able to leave the island. Dean O’Connor hopes they’ll be able to join the FSU Law community as soon as possible. “We don’t anticipate that they won’t be able to do it, but you just don’t know with so many people trying to leave Puerto Rico right now. We have to make sure they get books and materials. We have students willing to help and mentor,” she said.
As for Puerto Rico Law itself, given that the school had nearly 700 students enrolled according to last year’s ABA data, the administration may opt to repeat the fall semester in the spring, if and when electricity has been restored to campus. What the school do will beyond that is anyone’s guess at this point, since nearly all students will be at least a semester behind in their studies.
Best of luck to students from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law who will be coming to the mainland to complete their fall semesters, and a big thanks to all of the law schools that volunteered to take on students from the island. We’re sure you’ll receive very warm welcomes at your temporary new law schools soon.
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FSU Among Law Schools to Welcome Displaced Puerto Rican Students [Daily Business Review]
Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.