VivirLatino

I feel like I’ve been a bad Rican by not writing more about the UPR strike. Bianca has been doing a fabulous job at giving us a critical look at the student led movement inside Puerto Rico and her posts here have brought Puerto Rican students to VivirLatino telling us why they are doing what they are doing.

Joshua Bonet told us in the comment section:

I am a student at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus and a senior on pure mathematics. I have a 3.74 on my GPA and thankfully I receive the honor’s extension that provides me a free tuition. In top of that, I am a competitive athlete that will participate on the Central American and Caribbean Games that are going to be held this summer here at Puerto Rico. Now that you know a little bit about be, ask yourselves how is it possible for myself to pay for food, clothing, medical insurance, gas, tuition an other necessities? Well the answer is just plain simple: I just can’t. Maybe for some fortunate people $45 a credit is just a joke to be fighting for, but the truth is that for me is almost impossible to sustain myself in such an economic crisis. I live by numerous research projects that pay me a stipend which is enough to pay all of my primary necessities but that means I have to work in addition to training 6 hours a day and study at least 13 hours a day including classes. Therefore I only have 5 hour of sleep everyday for the rest of the semester. So where exactly can I calculate the time to work for money? Yeah! but I can use those hours of training and work everyday, that won’t be a problem…Well there is a huge problem, because being an athlete is as same as being a mathematician, a musician, an artist, a singer, a dancer, its a way of life, its my life and thats what makes us unique as humans. People are confused on visualizing education, not as an obligation but as a commodity and that clearly manipulates society to become dependent on corporate interests and not on our human interests. Our students and families have come across with a government that protects financial interests over humanitarian necessities. Is this not a form of tyranny? We have decided to avoid history repeating itself knowing how power has spilled blood (and oil) on the world by corporate greed. And for this I may say that I have been committed to protect my rights as a student, not because I serve as a individual entity, but because every human on this planet has the same right to choose by themselves what is better for them and be provided with the necessary tools to fulfill his or her pursuit of happiness. I love my university as much as I love being a mathematician, an athlete,a musician, a dancer and an independent individual with common rights. Let us be the guide to a better world and please understand how important this strike is for all of us, not as individuals but as a complete set of ideas, talents and equal rights. Now that I you have gave me the time to share my experiences with you, its your time to create a change in peoples lives not only for us but for all the young people that will continue our legacy on becoming professionals at the University of Puerto Rico. Thanks again for all your support and all parts of the world. Like we say: ” La educación es un derecho, no un privilegio ” (Education is a right, not a privilege) Que vivan los estudiantes!