Medill Explores Puerto Rico, 2019

In February of 2019 a dozen Medill MSJ students spent ten days in Puerto Rico as part of the Medill Explores program, which sends students all over the world for intensive reporting. The Puerto Rico cohort investigated not just the facts of life in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, but environmental issues, school closures, homelessness, and the island’s vibrant arts scene — as well as stories closer to home, in Chicago’s disasporic community. Over the past six months the stories that emerged from this trip have been published in both local and national outlets. See the links below for a sampling.

Reflections from Puerto Rico: Medill Explores 2019 (collection of vignettes on Medill Reports)

Puerto Ricans in Chicago: The stories of struggle and survival go on, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (also published in Latino Rebels and other outlets), by Justin Agrelo, Katie Rice, Martha Bayne and Kari Lydersen

The Puerto Rico Queer Scene is Thriving Despite Dark Times Past, Slate, by Justin Agrelo

Young Puerto Ricans Are Leaving the Island to Escape the Territory’s Debt – Pacific Standard, by Ashley Hackett  

Puerto Rico Transforms Closed Schools into Community Centers, Truthout, by Ankur Singh

Puerto Rico Association of University Professors Rallies Against Proposed Budget Cuts, Medill Reports, by Ankur Singh

Almost two years after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s drug crisis grows more severe, Medill Reports, by Carly Graf

“From Puerto Rico to Chicago, wherever you are, you have to fight,” Social Justice News Nexus, by Camille Erickson

A moment bigger than a campaign: 33rd Ward aldermanic candidate Rossana Rodríguez- Sánchez heads into runoff, Social Justice News Nexus, by Justin Agrelo

A year and a half after Maria, Puerto Rico’s drug crisis grows more severe, Social Justice News Nexus, by Carly Graf

Meet Chef Roberto Perez, Revitalizing Chicago’s Puerto Rican Food Scene, Medill Reports, by Justin Agrelo

Dancing with Solidarity, Social Justice News Nexus, by Dana Brozost-Kelleher

San Juan Outreach Program Supports Local Homeless Community, Medill Reports, by Chris Schulz  

A Community Group Practices Harm Reduction for Drug Users in Puerto Rico, by Ashley Hackett

Spreading solar power and self-reliance in Puerto Rico, by Becky Dernbach