FSU's law school prepares to accept students from Puerto Rico

Florida State’s College of Law will have a better idea Tuesday about how many displaced students it will be hosting from the University of Puerto Rico.

But early responses to its request for housing has been overwhelming, said Dean Erin O’Connor.

The college is planning for as many as 20 upper-level students to continue their studies at FSU, she said.

O’Connor said she reached out to her counterpart, Dean Vivian I. Neptune Rivera, following reports of the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria to the territory.

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“I let her know we would be willing to take some of their upper-level students,” O’Connor said. “I let her know we were one of the few law schools in the country where the students would be able to catch up by the end of the semester.”

O’Connor said FSU’s law school started the last week of August and then it was closed for 10 days because of the threat of Hurricane Irma.

It will be months before the University of Puerto Rico is able to resume classes.

O’Connor said members of FSU’s law school faculty have offered to teach a shorter version of the courses needed for required credit. The visiting students, who already have paid their tuition at the University of Puerto Rico, will have their tuition and fees waived for the fall semester at FSU.

O’Connor said reaching out to the university is “the right thing to do.” The college had received offers to assist students when Irma was threatening Tallahassee, she said.

In addition, following Hurricane Harvey, FSU law students assisted the Florida Bar in translating its website into different languages and students have offered pro bono assistance in the wake of Irma.

On Sunday, O’Connor reached out to FSU law alumni to secure housing for the students. In response, graduates and others who learned about the request on social media have offered to help pay rent for students or to provide housing. One person who has a house on the market offered to make it available to students until the property is sold.

“It’s been wonderful,” O’Connor said.

Angelika Traverso, a historian for the Puerto Rican Student Association at FSU, said she was proud of FSU’s efforts to assist the students with their studies.

“The fact the college is taking in students is magnificent,” she said. “They are helping the students finish their studies so they can go back and help Puerto Rico. It’s a beautiful thing.”

On Friday, the Puerto Rican Student Association will host this week’s installment of Global Café, which features foods from around the world. Traditional Puerto Rican foods will be sold for $7 each. The event is held in the Global Dining Room, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at 110 S. Woodward Ave.

Half of the proceeds will go to United for Puerto Rico, a relief effort backed by the First Lady of Puerto Rico Beatriz Rosellò.

Gov. Rick Scott last week requested Florida universities and state colleges offer in-state tuition for students in Puerto Rico displaced by the hurricane.

Ten of the 12 public universities — including Florida State — agreed.

Tallahassee Community College, North Florida Community College and Chipola College are among the state colleges allowing such arrangements.

FSU spokesman Dennis Schnittker said the university also is looking at helping “one or more” graduate students from Puerto Rico to continue studies in nurse anesthesia at FSU’s Panama City campus as well as helping medical students from Puerto Rico.

“We are working to help as many students as we can by eliminating out of state tuition and trying to secure housing." he said, "although it is likely that our numbers of ’transient’ students coming in from the Caribbean will be smaller than those numbers in Central and South Florida."

In addition, Schnittker said, FSU has told its students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands they will not be charged the out of state tuition and fees as FSU students this fall and the coming spring semester.

Leon County Schools also could see an influx of evacuated Puerto Rican students. LCS spokesman Chris Petley said the district stands ready to accommodate any students who have been affected by Maria.

“Following Hurricane Harvey in Houston, the Commissioner of Education provided information to school districts on how to welcome students impacted by that storm,” Petley said. “Once again, Leon County Schools will be prepared when and if students from Puerto Rico have need to come to Tallahassee.”

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.

Democrat staff writer Ryan Dailey contributed to this report.