I’ve always loved bubbles. But maybe my fondness for them isn’t just because of their seemingly magical qualities—it’s because I live in one. Puerto Rico, the island in the Caribbean I call home, only has a little more than three million inhabitants within its 3,515 square miles. Everyone I know knows each other, looks alike, and holds similar values and beliefs. In my town specifically, every student goes to one of five schools and will eventually live right next to everyone they have ever known. I loved it, and I still do, but within the beauty of my innocently iridescent bubble, I never saw the world for what it truly was.

The Boston College Puerto Rican Student Association (PRSA) issued a statement on Oct. 30, condemning remarks made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe spoke at former President Donald Trump’s rally...

March 19th marks the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the Puerto Rico.

“Everything is a part of movement … Always look to the future,” Ignacio Fletcher, UGBC executive vice presidential candidate said while he and Reed Piercey, UGBC presidential candidate, spoke on matters close to home.

Months after Maria made Puerto Rico headline-worthy and the foremost recipient of thoughts-and-prayers, BC students from the battered island reconcile with never returning to the home they left and resolve to build a new future.

"Unfortunately, we seem to file away disasters from Puerto Rico as distant, foreign news occurring miles away from our safe little college bubble."

"During this trying time, in which thousands of people outside the boundaries of the Heights are suffering as a result of natural disasters and violence alike, BC students must choose to break from the ordinary and practice compassion beyond what is expected."

Unidos Por Puerto is a fundraising effort set up specifically for hurricane relief with over 20 major corporate partners.

Maria was the 10th-most-powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic and the cause of tens of billions of dollars in damage throughout the Caribbean.