By Maris Medina
Center and Layout Editor
‘Un pueblo sin piernas pero que camina’ | ‘A world without feet but can walk’
From nearly 1,600 miles away, sophomore international student Gabriela Anglada watched her home country become ravaged by an immense hurricane. For ten days, her phone calls to Puerto Rico immediately went to voicemail. It was the Saturday after a week-and-a-half of no communication when Anglada finally reached her brother, who was perched on the roof of their family’s house to acquire a phone signal. Anglada’s family was no exception to the damage Hurricane Maria brought upon the island.
“My glass windows all broke at the same time,” the studio art student said. “My sister said it sounded like if it was dropping a bomb in the city…They could only sleep in the hallway which was the only area that was dry out of all the rooms in the house.”
For three weeks, a helpless Anglada grieved. But after consulting with the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education, she joined a nationwide campaign to raise money and awareness for Puerto Rico relief efforts. On Maryland’s own campus, Anglada was not alone.
‘I just had to do something about it’
Junior Alfredo Fernandez, another international student from Puerto Rico, was in disbelief when he heard about Hurricane Maria’s devastation. Growing up he heard hurricane warnings that would cancel class for “just a little rain,” so Fernandez was shocked to hear his parents describe the wreckage.
“It was a like a different country,” the government and politics student said. “You always see on the news stuff like this happening. You never expect to have it happen in your own home.”
Pushed by his love for Puerto Rico, Fernandez could not sit idly.
“I did it mostly because I love the people of Puerto Rico,” he said. “I have friends, family there so it touches a very specific place in my heart and I just had to do something about it.”
Fernandez launched a GoFundMe campaign called “UMD for Puerto Rico” that has since collected nearly $2,500 and almost 400 Facebook shares in the span of a few weeks. On top of the online campaign, he pitched a t-shirt fundraiser to his fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, to raise even more funds for hurricane relief. The t-shirt displays Testudo holding up the Puerto Rican flag.
The GoFundMe campaign and the approximately 700 t-shirt orders have amassed about $9000 in sales – all to be donated towards hurricane relief. For two weeks, Fernandez recalls email after email about incoming Venmo orders to the campaign.
The t-shirt fundraiser, which has primarily been marketed to students affiliated in Greek life organizations, highlights the moving sense of community with Greek organizations, Fernandez said.
“Even though people criticize a lot Greek organizations, when people come together and try to network, it works,” he said.
Another GoFundMe campaign that has made significant contributions to relief efforts is “Students with Puerto Rico.” Anglada is the university’s representative in the nationwide crowdfunding spanning over 50 universities that has raised over $213,000 in a single month.
Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society with a chapter at this university, has also significantly contributed to hurricane relief efforts. ODK established “Terps4Terps” on Launch UMD, a crowdfunding platform similar to GoFundMe but specific to this university.
According to the campaign’s website, ODK has gathered over $5,400 in donations. With proceeds from an additional Blaze Pizza fundraiser, the group expects to collect $5,500 to $5,600 in total, according to ODK’s digital communications chair Trey Mason, a senior chemical engineering student.
Maryland PIRG, a public research group on campus, conducted weekly tabling events to raise money for donations. Among the weekly events, MaryPIRG managed to collect over $1,000 in one day in only three hours of tabling outside McKeldin Library, according to Diksha Patel, Hunger and Homelessness Coordinator and cell biology and genetics student.
Fundraising efforts weren’t limited to money-collecting fundraisers. MasTERPiece, a fashion business organization within the business school, held a tailgate in partnership with the Maryland Music Business Society and student-run fashion line AllTerpEverything. The organizations collected money through wristband and merchandise sales.
Money matters
For Anglada, where the money goes is critical, especially with the numerous reports of charity organizations having issues with money distribution.
Contributions collected by Anglada, MasTERPiece, the Maryland Music Business Society, AllTerpEverything and MaryPIRG will be donated to Unidos Por Puerto Rico, a fund started by Beatriz Rosselló, the First Lady of Puerto Rico.
Julia Stratford, a close friend of Anglada and MasTERPiece’s Vice President of Finance, stressed that it’s critical to turn to those who are directly affected by disasters when deciding on a charity.
“It’s always really important to consult with the people who are being affected and listen to them because they understand so much more than we do,” she said.
Fernandez, on the other hand, is a little wary that donations given to Unidos Por Puerto Rico will be politically manipulated.
“I don’t want the people from Maryland, especially the students from Maryland, to feel like their money went to a political campaign,” Fernandez said.
The government and politics student is deciding between donating the money to Unidos Por Puerto Rico and the relief efforts established by world-renowned Puerto Rican chef José Andrés. According to National Public Radio, the chef has served nearly 1.5 million meals to Puerto Ricans devastated by the hurricane.
Donations to Puerto Rico follow a critical timeline, Mason said, ODK’s digital communications chair. According to Mason, the devastation is a “time-sensitive issue” that requires funds to be distributed immediately. ODK is donating their campaign money to the UMD Student Crisis Fund, a financial support resource for students who experience unexpected, large-scale emergencies.
‘A sense of community’
In the aftermath of the hurricane, Anglada was in shock when she received the outpouring of assistance on campus.
“I couldn’t believe that there were actually people who were willing and very eager to help,” the native Puerto Rican said. “Even though this campus is very diverse and has a lot of different cultures and stuff, they still don’t know [much] about Puerto Rico.”
The success of the fundraising tailgate that sold 76 wristbands solidified the university’s sense of community, Stratford said.
“Sometimes it can feel like it’s overwhelming with so many people,” Stratford said. “There truly are wonderful people who want to build a community, want to give back, and be a part of something like this.”
And on an individual scale, Fernandez felt an immense sense of gratitude when his fraternity brothers immediately supported his t-shirt idea.
“It really solidified my appreciation for my fraternity,” Fernandez said. “Every fraternity said, ‘If a brother has a problem, we’re always there for you, we’ll back you up.’ It’s one thing to say it and another thing to put it in practice.”
‘You’re gonna make a change’
While student organizations here on campus are finalizing their hurricane relief campaigns, Mason stresses that public awareness is extremely critical even after the worst of the storm has subsided.
“[There’s] always a new headline every 45 minutes,” Mason said. “It’s very easy to forget about all these things.”
With the swiftness of a major disaster slipping from the public eye, desensitization is another dangerous consequence.
“It can feel like it’s so hard to comprehend, understand, and feel like you can make an impact,” Stratford said. “Especially in this time, it feels like there’s something every day that’s going on and you can see on your phone, you get alerts all the time.”
Despite these drawbacks, Anglada believes in the power of unity to achieve success.
“One person is not enough when it comes to helping out 3.5 million people,” Anglada said. “Don’t ever be afraid to reach out to people, especially to adults who are working in institutions and in programs.”
‘We’re gonna lift ourselves up’
Anglada no longer hears her family’s voicemail when she calls them from Maryland. She is currently enjoying daily communication and constant updates on the state of her native country.
Her family, along with the millions affected by Hurricane Maria, have begun to rebuild. Their resilience, according to Anglada, keeps her going from thousands of miles away.
“[My mom] said, ‘You know, we were always struggling, we’re always under the fire and right now, we’re gonna lift ourselves up,’” Anglada said. “I have so much faith in [my people.] I was born in a culture where we were taught that when there are times of struggle, we always have to get ourselves together and get up and keep going.”
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