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Student Leaders Agree to End Strike at U. of Puerto Rico

By  Sophia Li
June 17, 2010

Student activists and administrators at the University of Puerto Rico have reached an agreement that is expected to end an almost two-month-long protest that shut down 10 of the system’s 11 campuses.

A key element of the agreement, which was reached Wednesday, was the university’s decision not to put into effect a proposal that would have modified its policies for awarding tuition exemptions. The exemptions are awarded to students who excel academically; participate in sports, music, or the arts; or are the children of university employees. The university’s proposal would have prevented students from receiving both tuition exemptions and federal grants—creating even more financial stress on low-income students, said Gabriel E. Laborde, a senior at the system’s main campus, at Río Piedras, who participated in the negotiations.

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Student activists and administrators at the University of Puerto Rico have reached an agreement that is expected to end an almost two-month-long protest that shut down 10 of the system’s 11 campuses.

A key element of the agreement, which was reached Wednesday, was the university’s decision not to put into effect a proposal that would have modified its policies for awarding tuition exemptions. The exemptions are awarded to students who excel academically; participate in sports, music, or the arts; or are the children of university employees. The university’s proposal would have prevented students from receiving both tuition exemptions and federal grants—creating even more financial stress on low-income students, said Gabriel E. Laborde, a senior at the system’s main campus, at Río Piedras, who participated in the negotiations.

The terms of the agreement stipulate that students must clean up the campus and restore it to its previous state. The university, which agreed not to summarily suspend or expel students involved in the protest, also agreed to delay a tuition hike until the spring semester of the 2010-11 academic year, instead of introducing an increase in the fall.

“Students should not have to pay for the fiscal irresponsibility of the administration of the University of Puerto Rico,” Mr. Laborde said. The administration had not planned well, he said, and should reduce its own salaries and expenses to make up for budget shortfalls before increasing the burden on students.

University representatives were not available for an interview.

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The fiscal status of the university remains a hot-button issue for the student protesters, who say it continues to refuse to make its operational budget public.

Still, Mr. Laborde said he thought that the strike produced “positive results” and that, in the future, he hopes such situations can be resolved before students resort to shutting down the university.

As the protest winds down, the university system’s students, faculty members, and administrators alike are feeling its consequences. Students who expected to graduate were unable to begin the jobs they had accepted. The strike halted research, delayed funding, and damaged the university’s academic reputation, said Manuel Gómez, who directs the university’s Resource Center for Science and Engineering. The university administration has yet to announce when classes will resume, and about three weeks of classes remain in the semester interrupted by the strike, Mr. Gómez said.

The agreement must be ratified by the system’s students within five days. The protest leaders are planning to convene a general assembly of students from all of the university system’s campuses on Monday to bring it to a vote, Mr. Laborde said, and he expected the vote to pass.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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