As the university notes, graduate housing is ‘extremely limited,’ which means that the vast majority of NYU’S 25,000 graduate students live somewhere in the five boroughs of the city or over the bridge in Hoboken or Jersey City. No testing is provided by the university on the weekends, and students who wish to get tested and do not live in NYU administered housing (which offers more readily available testing options) must schedule a test in advance. This makes testing and navigating exposure more difficult for graduate students than advertised.

My roomate, David Sheckel, 24, got tested ‘more than 50 times’ by his own estimation while completing his Masters in Public Policy at Northeastern University in Boston, where he lived before moving to Brooklyn. Half a hundred negative results later, he began to feel like he’d never contract Covid-19 – especially after reaching full-vaccination status near the end of April. 

“Actually getting a positive one, I didn’t process it at first,” he said, having only gotten tested in the first place as a courtesy before heading in for the first day of a new job. “I was a little congested, but kinda figured it was my seasonal allergies. It’s kind of shocking.”

David, who is not a student at NYU, had been keeping a low profile for the most part. He tries to avoid large gatherings and crowded areas, congregating mostly with small groups of friends. He says that upwards of 10 people he potentially exposed all tested negative. 

“I guess it’s proof the vaccine is doing its job,” he said. “But it’s also proof that breakthrough infections happen.”

Data collected by the New York Times suggests that fully vaccinated people have a one in 5,000 chance of contracting the virus – half as likely if you live in an area with low transmission. As of September 15th, 68% of New York City’s adults 18 and older have received their first dose of the vaccine, according to NYC Health Department data. Those figures for the university are more impressive, thanks to NYU’s back to school vaccine mandate: 99% of students, 98% of faculty, and 96% of employees are fully vaccinated. 

Even in an environment where inoculation is high, evidence of breakthrough infections is beginning to emerge. 

NYU releases testing data on a weekly basis, which can be found buried on the university’s website four clicks from the homepage. Last week (September 6-12), NYU returned 48 positive PCR tests out of 3,457 PCR conducted on campus, for a reported positivity rate of 1.36%. The total number of cases for the same time period was 157, which includes cases reported by students, faculty and employees from testing conducted off campus. NYU’s Covid Response and Prevention team could not be reached for comment. 

All publicly available data for the first two weeks of the semester shows a cumulative total of 249 reported positive cases. 

Living about four miles from campus in Brooklyn, I found myself not wanting to travel via public transportation to NYU’s BioReference testing site located on campus at 18 Cooper Square out of an abundance of caution. Once David notified me of being infected, we read articles from the Cleveland Clinic and Bustle about how to best proceed, in addition to consulting the ACCESS NYC covid hotline. NYU advised me that as long as I was vaccinated and wasn’t showing symptoms that quarantining wasn’t necessary. 

David and I committed to staying in our respective rooms and double masking everytime we needed to use the common areas like the kitchen or the bathroom, each of us waiting for the other to leave before taking our turn and being sure to thoroughly disinfect with Lysol wipes afterwards. Although our apartment fits the standard New York City shoebox stereotype, it’s got enough doors and a deck to make staying out of each other’s way relatively easy. 

Getting tested, on the other hand, wasn’t as straightforward. 

“Google Maps has a feature to find covid testing near you, but I don’t think that’s a very good resource,” said David about our search for local testing. The only options within a mile radius of our apartment were urgent care centers and private clinics. Several of these options featured reviews lamenting how disorganized the process was and how it took days for results on tests that purportedly are ready in less than thirty minutes. 

“The city’s website offers a great resource to find covid testing near you, with an option to search for testing by zip code,” said David. “If I end up getting tested again, I’ll probably go to one of the city’s mobile units, even though there aren’t any that are super convenient for us here.”

I ended up getting both a rapid antigen and PCR test at an urgent care center in Bushwick. Thankfully, both came back negative. 

While the PCR test was covered under my university-provided insurance, the rapid antigen test ran me $100. I called five testing options that purported to offer free rapid antigen testing near me but either never made it off hold or was told to plan to come first thing the following morning, when they’d be less busy. Two separate Walgreens within walking distance told me they were no longer conducting rapid antigen testing, and they were also sold out of the take home versions of these tests. 

While rapid testing is thought to be less reliable than PCR testing, it’s almost a necessity when it comes to informing classmates and professors about your status while they figure out how to proceed themselves. Real time results enable real time decisions. And without a clear playbook for graduate students, those decisions are all the more complicated.

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The city that never sleeps is in deep slumber.  I have been sitting home for over two months now. My room is both my classroom and my work space. When I arrived here in September 2019, New York was buzzing with a mix of everything. Culture, food, music, and arts-it was full of vibe. 

 Now  my life consists of washing  my hands frequently and wearing a mask to go to the store.  There are restrictions everywhere to prevent the spread of  the virus. The warnings reinforce the new codes of behavior that dominates what was once a vibrant, buzzing and multicultural city. Now social distancing, avoiding crowded spaces, avoiding family, avoiding friends are the new orders. Our normal lives are gone. 

The streets are blocked off. Schools and businesses are closed. Cinemas and restaurants are shuttered. Even the city’s lovely Time Square is empty, lonely and deserted.

Almost 30,000 in New York alone and over 100,000 have died from the virus nationwide.

The doors of my university are closed and my courses restricted online. 

The social and psychological shift that’s taken place under COVID-19’s regime worries me more than the government’s temporary restrictions on our movements to deal with the public health crisis. When fear becomes a prime motivator for people, they lose touch with the better angels of their nature. I’ve seen it firsthand. When I sneezed in public people looked at me with suspicion and ran away. 

This is not the first time I am facing a dictatorial regime.  In the 90’s, while living in my home country of Sierra Leone,  I witnessed a military regime with brutal restrictions. Five years ago I faced the Ebola virus. Both were brutal. But I was not expecting another like this in New York, the buzzing capital of the world.

Since COVID-19 struck, I have seen people lose jobs, family members abandon their sick loved ones. I have seen people buried in body bags, their families unable to participate in giving proper burial rites. I have seen marketplaces increase food prices because everything imported is more expensive these days. I have paid my fair share to  the virus regime.

I came close to the virus myself. A source I interviewed for a university assignment tested positive two weeks after our meeting. She survived. A black African who owns a shop close to my house on Staten Island succumbed to the virus. His shop is still closed and RIP written on it. 

When I started reporting on COVID-19 in New York for my classes months ago, I never thought it would devastate the city and the world like this. The world is on a lockdown. All because of a dictatorial virus.

Barber shops and hair salons are closed and my bushy hair reminds me that these are not normal times. 

I have turned to watching movies, reading books and watching television shows that occupy my time in isolation. I too am succumbing to COVID-19’s state of sadness or dictatorial tendencies. 

But I am trying to make up for what I’ve seen I want to replace bad energy with something positive. I’m playing my part as the dissident in COVID-19’s dictatorship.

Just like I survived the other dictatorial regimes in the past, I am hopeful that I will survive this because this too shall soon pass.

The post A dictatorship called COVID-19 appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

 After the lockdown of New York City, I decided to fly home for a week because Georgia suburbs felt safer than a big city during a global pandemic. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

 My 28-year-old brother was infected by Covid-19 shortly after I came home in late March. Faster than a row of dominos, my entire family of four was infected. We all suffered from different, but severe symptoms like pneumonia, fever and difficulty breathing.

I’m 24, my sister is 26 and every day is a challenge for my family.

Cases of coronavirus skyrocketed in Georgia in the past two weeks. The number of deaths were below 50 in late March and has now soared past 430 as of Easter morning.

“Whatever this is, it’s not a joke,” my brother said to me gently as I brought him oatmeal. I have never seen my older brother cry, but I saw tears as he struggled with eating.

After my mother’s fourth visit to the hospital, she cried and said she thinks she will lose her life to the coronavirus. She said it was best to do nothing and keep her at home. She is 49.

Coronavirus hit my brother and mother the hardest. According to the AJC, 61% of cases are patients between 18 and 59. 

I wasn’t going to lose anything else to this deadly virus. I chose to fight for us.

My mother started out strong after she tested positive with only a small cough. Her cough grew louder and more frequent followed by nausea. Hospital trips went from once every few days to two or three times in one day. Each visit came with more bad news like pneumonia and fluid in her lungs.

In four days, I drove to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Braselton, Georgia more than 10 times. My nights consisted of driving to the hospital at 1 am, falling asleep in my car, being woken up at 6 am by a call from a physician and coming back to the hospital twice before nightfall the next day.

I would drive up to four hours in one day. Along with the virus, I had breathing difficulties and strep throat. But I wasn’t sleeping or taking my medicine because I didn’t have the time to. The doctors kept calling for my mom to come in.

 It wasn’t visible, but I felt like a walking corpse. And one day I almost fell asleep behind the wheel.

“You’re not allowed to drive anywhere like this. You don’t need to take me to the hospital. If I’m going to die, I would rather die here surrounded by my children,” my mom said to me after I brought her home late at night.

I heard surrender in her voice, but I was not defeated. I knew this was not the end for our family.

“I can just stay in the parking lot for as long as you stay in the hospital if that makes you go. There are doctors outside 24/7 in case I get sick. I can bring food and my antibiotics, and I’ll get to rest,” I said to my mom.

The best way to take care of myself and be close to my mom was to live near the hospital, in my car. Home didn’t need me. My only purpose there was to take her to and from the hospital. I told her I’d stay only hundreds of feet away from her if she needed me.

She gave up hope so I gave her some of mine.

Living in my small car while tested positive for coronavirus doesn’t sound safe or smart, but it was the only way to get my mom to keep seeing the doctor.

My brain went into survival mode.

My mother thrives off her children’s love. If she sees me fighting for her, it will only push her to get better. The hope my mother lost was regained because her daughter was waiting for her.

This virus stripped away all of the luxuries in my life I thought were necessities like a kitchen and a bed.

 I am only 5’1 so sleeping in a car was not terribly uncomfortable. I had a blanket, fruit, water, and my antibiotics. I had time to rest and think about what I am up against. Instead of feeling bad that I was stuck in a car, I continued to feel hopeful because I could adapt to anything during this time of crisis.

I wasn’t the only one who waited outside for a loved one. I saw a tall man in a car much older than mine.

My time alone in my car made me stronger. I had nobody to talk to so I wasn’t straining my throat. I had no excuse to not take my medicine and my body finally got the rest it needed.

That is how you defeat coronavirus. You take every possible measurement and fight it. You don’t give up and let it take everyone it infects.

When it hurts to breathe, take deep breaths. Holding a deep breath feels like I’m hiding a cookie cutter in my throat.

Coronavirus  has a mind of its own. You just can’t kill it with Tylenol or go to the hospital and get an IV.

I did not let my mother give up hope. I will take every precaution and keep fighting. 

The post Coronavirus flipped my world upside down appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

On her way to stay with her family for spring break, and until in-person classes resumed, she packed the essentials, leaving the rest behind in her New York University dorm room. 

That Sunday, the government of Puerto Rico put in place a curfew. And on Monday, to her dismay, a memorandum from her university announced that all dorms would be shutting down, giving approximately 12,000 students living in housing less than a week’s notice to move out, and advising them to do so within 48 hours.

“It was contrary to everything they had told us up until that point,” she said. “They could have told us to move out before spring break. Everything I own is in that room.”

All over the US, universities have been closing down student housing in response to the new coronavirus outbreak, some of them turning the dorms into facilities for quarantine or temporary hospitals. The situation has been escalating day by day, and institutions have been struggling to quickly respond to an unprecedented crisis.

New York has been hit particularly hard, and is quickly becoming the epicenter of the outbreak in the US. 

The email sent out by NYU President Andrew Hamilton on March 16th offered to have student’s belongings packed and shipped for free and assured they would be reimbursed for the rest of the semester. It instructed those who were away for spring break and planned to return to “do so as soon as possible”.

It also gave students the possibility to petition for an exception, noting that “the bar will be high” and warning them that they might still be asked to move to another house. According to several students, the university only responded to their requests on Thursday, three days before the final deadline to move out.

“I decided to seek temporary housing, because of how long it took for them to respond to the housing requests,” 23-year old graduate student Pak Ho, said.

Like Ho, who is originally from Hong Kong, hundreds of international students, who are around 27% of residents, were put in a complicated situation, unable to go home, because of travel restrictions, health concerns and fear of not being able to return soon.

“I can’t go back because of the visa issues and travel bans that are already on Iran,” a graduate student who asked to not be identified because he is considering pursuing legal action against NYU, said. “[Getting a visa] was a really, really, really hard process. Now the University is asking me to go home. They didn’t think about it in terms of international students, who don’t have any place here and they can’t go anywhere.”

He found a temporary place to stay, through the help of a coalition of students and the GSOC student-worker union, which dubbed themselves the “NYU COVID Coalition”. In response to the initial memorandum, the group promptly took the role of advocating for students and forming a system to pair up people who could provide any type of housing and students in need. 

The Iranian student did get his petition for an exception approved, but still preferred to move out.

Students have noted the generosity they’ve felt from people offering up the homes, either for a place to crash or for storage, and also from the NYU COVID Coalition. Just not from NYU.

“Through my four years at NYU, I’ve gotten a sense that they don’t care about their students,” Nagovitch, who is a fourth-year housing resident, said. “And that was just completely validated.”

Iraj Eshghi, a student worker who is part of the NYU COVID Coalition, said the group is especially concerned about the way NYU handled the process of moving people out, more than the decision to close dorms.

“At least the way it was done for graduate students, was they out of the blue,” he said. “ I wouldn’t entirely blame NYU for that, because it seems like nobody was prepared for this.  But just the way NYU dealt with it was particularly harmful [to students].”

On March 17th, one day after the announcement that housing would be closing, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Marc Wais sent out a more informal email as a response to the initial backlash. It highlighted how they would now be offering the possibility for students to have their possessions locked in their room, and how only “students who are in day-trip range” should return to campus to pack up their belongings.

It also offered some further explanation as to why students were being kicked out of housing: for their own safety and for the university to possibly be able to offer up its dorms as a state contingency plan in the event of hospitals being overwhelmed.

“I know that some of you may feel that the University should have anticipated this decision earlier,” Wais wrote. “Nonetheless, I can promise you that it is not the case that NYU knew all along that it was going to end up here.”

Pavement Pieces reached out to the Office of Student Affairs, for an interview with Marc Wais, but could not get one in time for this article. The questions sent via email also remain unanswered.

“I understand why they closed residence halls, I understand everything that they explained in the second email,” 22-year-old senior Jana Cholakovska, from North Macedonia, said. “I was mostly upset about the language and the fact that they made it seem like we had known rather than them convincing us that it was all going to be fine. In fact, you know, we were convinced for a very long time that we were not gonna be kicked out”?

Wais talked about the situation in an article published on Tuesday, March 17th, in the New York Times.

“Mr. Wais indicated that many students had not heeded earlier calls to leave their dormitories. ‘Altogether, this was the opposite of what we needed’,” the article said. 

But just a few days before, on the 12th, an email from NYU Residential Life & Housing Services stated, “the residence halls remain open at this time, supported by NYU staff members.”

In fact, most students, even resident advisers, said that they were completely blindsided on Monday by the announcement that the dorms would be closing. 

But in just several days the spread of the virus continued at an alarming rate. It became clear that dorms could only be used by students who had no other choice.

By the end of the week, some of the students who asked to have their possessions packed and shipped were still struggling to figure out just how that process was going to happen. 

“I have packed some of my stuff. But some of my stuff isn’t packed and there’s no way I can go back,” Lyvi Wren, a 23-year-old student from Canada, said. “I get that they’re going to pack things up and ship them. But when are they going to do that? What are they going to do about things in the common area?”

Others have raised questions about, for example, who exactly would be doing the move, the number of things that could be shipped and whether there would be an insurance policy. Overall, the lack of information has kept everyone in a state of unease.

“You’re at a point where you don’t know who to talk to,” Nagovitch said. “Instead of answering the phone, a little voice comes up and tells you to go check the coronavirus website for updates.”

A statement put out early in the week by the Inter-Residence Hall Council addressed some concerns regarding the way the housing situation was managed, including the lack of information regarding their decision.

“This was done without any notice to any of the groups that represent or work for NYU Residents,” it said. “We recognize that extreme measures and decisions are increasingly common across the nation, but it should be recognized that consulting students about decisions that impact student housing and well-being will logically create better decisions.”

They also addressed health concerns, regarding the way the university called on their students to go back to housing to get their belongings. Contrary to the recommendations that have been given out by authorities, they advised students to travel back to New York and to come together at the same time in the halls, “almost certainly” leading to gatherings of 10 or more people. 

“I completely understand why they did it,” Cholakovska said. “But I think that they put their students in danger when they told everyone to come back immediately and preferably move out within 48 hours. My first fear was, ‘oh my god, this is going to create a bottleneck effect where all of us are going to start moving out in the same at the same time’.”

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Surviving a city with so much mobility brings not only physical challenges to the elderly. Mental health and social connections are also critical to seniors. NYC’s Department for the Aging funds over 250 senior centers across the 5 boroughs. With more than half of the seniors’ population being immigrants, places such as the NYC Chinatown Senior Center helps them break the language barriers and find their communities.

But, with the increase of the aging population in the city, the medical supply is not meeting the demand. There are less than 8,000 geriatricians in the country. Megan Rau, a geriatrician from NYU Langone Health urged young professionals to learn the primary geriatric principles, and apply them to their future practice.

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As the student loan debate moves increasingly to center stage the idea of free tuition for all is gaining traction among college students. And not only at public institutions. Some private school attendees say they also want to be included in the ‘go to college for free’ club.

While Genie Jang, an undergraduate Education major at NYU Steinhardt School, does not know how this could be accomplished, she believes the public versus private school division is inherently classist and should be eliminated.

“Funding should be provided to all students regardless of the school they choose to attend, the way it is done in Europe,” she said. “Students do not choose the family they are born in so they shouldn’t have to choose where to attend based on income.” 

Rob Mousavi, a sophomore at the The New School in Manhattan, said free tuition was definitely the way to go as SUNY and CUNY colleges have done over the past two years. He does not believe private schools should be exempt from this. 

He said that even with scholarships and taking a year off to work and save for college he was still struggling to cover tuition and related expenses. He did not want to incur debt for school.

“Most people support finding an alternative to loans,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind paying additional taxes in the future so that the next generation could benefit from lowered tuition.”

On the national level, the push for student loan forgiveness and free tuition revolves primarily around public state colleges and universities where it is believed the need is greatest.

 In 2017 New York State launched the Excelsior Scholarship Program where in-state residents who complete at least 30 credits within each academic year toward an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree could attend The City University of New York within the 5 boroughs or a State University college anywhere in the state completely free. 

Currently at least 15 other states, including a pending proposal in the New Mexico state legislature, provide free tuition to students attending their public colleges and universities. None provide free tuition to students attending private colleges.

The NYU Medical School fully covers tuition for all its MD degree candidates through endowments, not tax-payers’ dollars.

MBA student, Ayush Khanna, attending a conference at NYU Stern School of Business on Friday afternoon, said it would be great if tuition could be free at both public and private schools, but was concerned about the debt that would cause the government to shoulder.

“There would be increased taxes,” he said. “I see implementation fees, implementation challenges.” 

He wasn’t convinced it was doable.

Exiting the Bobst Library at NYU, third year Computer Science major, Kellan Cupid, said tuition should definitely be free for everyone eventually, but should start with public colleges as is being done now. 

“The return on investment seems to be decreasing for student loans in general,” he said. “I’m seeing people paying off debt in their 40s and 50s. It is not always worth it.”

Cupid believes funding for private school students should start with partial government funding, some endowments like the medical school received, and then general fundraising from various other sources.

Haley Cunningham of the Tisch School at NYU says tuition at NYU is too high and free tuition should be considered for private colleges. Photo by Karen Camela Watson

Tisch School film and television senior, Haley Cunningham, shares similar views. 

“Tuition here is ridiculously high,” she said. “Tuition should be free for private schools also. It  could take years to pay off. It’s not always worth it…spending half your life paying off student loans.”

She didn’t have a proposal for funding free tuition for private schools as she was “not quite sure how the funding system works’’ and will have to do more research, but added that tuition definitely needs to be lowered with help from the government and donors.

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Without a pathway to citizenship and ICE arrests still rising, some undocumented students are seeking help from their schools amid their fear of deportation.

New York University’s Immigration Defense Initiative, provides free legal support and advice for immigrant students, faculty, and their family members. Frances Dàvila, Staff Attorney of IDI, has been focusing on outreach within the NYU community.

She wants the NYU immigrant community to know that these services are available.

“I just worked with the LGBTQ student center and let them know my office is here to create some partnership – so if they come across any student that is not a US citizen, they can refer them to me,” said Dàvila.  

She has noticed more DACA students reaching out to her office and asking if they can travel abroad. Dàvila is also alarmed by the denial of DACA renewals.

“What I’ve seen more of is an increase in DACA renewals being denied. They’re being more of a stickler in what are the grounds for denial,” she said. “In one situation we had so much proof that the student was still eligible but US immigration services denied their request.”  

Dàvila said that immigration court gives anyone that is denied an application a notice to appear, which places them in removal proceedings. This new policy forces individuals to fight their case in immigration court. She believes this puts students at risk of deportation.

“You will forever be separated from your community if you’re deported. For so many it’s like the ultimate punishment because they can never come back to their community, let alone finish their education,” she said.

Dàvila is now highly encouraging students to apply for their green cards instead of renewing their DACA applications. Although the student must ask their parents to petition for them and pay an application fee of around $1,225 – the lengthy process appears to be more reliable than  DACA renewals. DACA renewals can cost up to $500.

CUNY’s John Jay College recently opened up their own Immigrant Student Success Center in October. It’s the only CUNY college to house a center dedicated to helping DACA, TPS, and immigrant students.

“It’s one of a kind. It was created so students wouldn’t fall through the cracks,” said Cynthia Carvajal, Immigrant Student Success Manager at John Jay College. “Students are coming in and asking more questions because the center exists.”

Carvajal hasn’t seen an increase in DACA renewals being denied but she has seen more complications and errors with the applications.

“I’ve seen them asking students for a piece of information then saying they don’t need it,” she said.

Carvajal believes that immigrant students are dealing with a lot of mental trauma.

“Every student I meet with, the conversation is almost always about stress and them crying. They’re scared of ICE targeting their communities or they’re guilty that they have DACA and a sibling doesn’t and on top of that their grades,” she said.

Growing up, Carvajal was undocumented and can relate to the students she helps today. She believes President Trump has spewed anti-immigrant and anti-black body rhetoric. Although it’s painful for her to see, she wants to focus on the positive.

“But there’s still places of empowerment – that students have cultivated for themselves through groups and to me it’s rejuvenating,” she said.

Arturo Lopez Rosas, 25, was approved for DACA when it was first introduced under the Obama administration. He lived in California at the time.

“It was really exciting for me. I felt like my life had been turned around right before starting college. I remember crying and getting really excited of the possibility of a pathway,” said Rosas.

He found the application process to be straightforward and applied on his own. It took him around four weeks to get a response.

Rosas became fearful of deportation when President Trump got elected in 2016 and made the decision to leave America. He booked a one way flight to Iceland and began to travel.

“It really freaked me out that, that was something I could go through. I didn’t want the PTSD of someone throwing me out,” he said.

Rosas said that traveling allowed him to stay away from the cultural insensitivity that he believes was ignited under the Trump administration. He also didn’t want to pay $500 to renew DACA.

Rosas now lives in Mexico and decided to return to rediscover his heritage. He wishes that there was an easier pathway to citizenship and fears that he won’t be able to return to America if something happens to his parents.

“I wanted a choice to create my own reality instead of going to work one day and having ICE officials in full police outfit trying to take me away,” he said.

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When Puerto Rican college students Ana Garcia and Daniela Valdes Bennett applied to transfer to NYU for their spring semester after surviving two hurricanes, they kept it a secret from each other. The friends broke the news through emojis — an airplane, followed by another airplane and an American flag.

“I texted her saying, ‘Hey, I have news,’” said Bennett. “Ana said, ‘I have news too.’ And we freaked out.”

Garcia and Bennett are two of the 57 students admitted to NYU for the Spring 2018 semester through the Hurricane Maria Assistance Program. Through the program, NYU covers full tuition, a meal plan, housing and health insurance for students whose educations were interrupted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria last fall.

“There were over 400 applications and several hundred more that were not completed,” said Josh Taylor, Associate Vice Chancellor of Global Programs at NYU. “We prioritized students with challenging living situations, no internet and who attended campuses with no electricity.”

Other major universities, including Tulane, Cornell and Brown, are offering similar programs this spring.

Bennett and Garcia decided to transfer after barely managing one semester on the recovering island. Throughout the fall semester, closed classrooms, destroyed equipment and loss of power made studying nearly impossible.

Garcia’s school was closed for weeks due to the storms.

“Water came through the roof and ruined all the computers, everything,” Garcia said. “When the school opened again, we were taking classes in different places. It was a mess. When classes resumed, the power wasn’t guaranteed.”

Today, 131 days after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans on the island continue to struggle with the lack of reliable power. According to status.pr, 69% of the island has electricity, leaving 450,000 people currently without power. Garcia’s family completely lost power for four months. For Bennett’s, it was three and a half months, but they still have intermittent outages.

“Just this morning my family lost power again,” said Bennett. “It’s coming and going. Talking to them on the phone makes me kind of sad to know that they are still there. My twin brother is still studying in Puerto Rico and he keeps calling me saying, “‘I’m so jealous of you.’ I know it’s hard for them.”

During the fall semester, both students did homework using flashlights and candles. To do research, they drained their cell phone batteries and used what little data they had. When it was time to recharge, they took their laptops and phones to local cafes and waited along with dozens of other people who shared surge protectors and outlets.

“There were so many lines,” said Garcia. “For everything.”

At the cafes, the young women submitted their applications to NYU, which felt like a much-needed relief from the stress in the aftermath of the storms.

“The situation is just so overwhelming,” said Garcia. “You can’t think of anything but getting your power back and being able to shower with hot water.”

For Garcia, the chance to attend NYU for the spring seemed like a second chance to buckle down after a semester lost to the hurricanes.

“I found out that I had gotten into the program while I was at the bakery charging my phone and my laptop,” said Garcia. “And then I started crying and the people at the bakery were like, ‘Are you okay?’ And I was like, ‘Yea, I’m just really excited. This is good news.”

On campus at NYU, the transfer students feel embraced by their peers, despite the differences in their experiences.

“As soon as I told my roommates I was from Puerto Rico, they asked me about the hurricane,” said Bennett. “They sat around the table and I told them all of my stories and they were like, ‘Oh my god, wow.’

But the visiting students feel like their peers aren’t talking about Puerto Rico as much as they should be.

“I do feel like a lot of people have forgotten about it,” said Bennett. “People think it’s over and there has been so much progress, so I don’t want to complain. But it’s not over yet.”

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