Puerto Rico currently has a per capita debt load of $19,000 and its 2013 deficit was around $2.2 billion.  In the midst of a prolonged recession, there has been widespread debate on how to solve the debt crisis.

Justin Vélez-Hagan, Public Policy Ph.D. student and executive director of The National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, co-authored an article published in Forbes that suggested bankruptcy might be the only solution to reforming the economy.

“Puerto Rico has to restructure. They can’t keep borrowing at 8 and 9%, raising taxes on the only ones paying any, and chasing away its brightest contributors to the relative economic paradise of the mainland,” Vélez-Hagan wrote. “Bondholders have already taken a big hit and are going to take a long, slow and inevitable bigger one if they don’t restructure now.”

Vélez-Hagan also argued that Puerto Rico must change its economic attitude and way of thinking to rebound, especially with an unemployment rate currently at 13.9%.

“Even if there is a bankruptcy, and even if bondholders get 30 or 40 or 60 cents on the dollar and even if pension obligations are reduced 30 or 40 percent, Puerto Rico must undergo an economic structural reform and create a competitive economy that incentivizes new business and creates an atmosphere that that makes it more profitable to work than to be on the dole,” Vélez-Hagan wrote.

Contributing writer Richard Finger co-wrote the article with Vélez-Hagan. To read the full article “Default: Puerto Rico’s Inevitable Option” in Forbes, click here.

Dr. Christine Mallinson has recently co-authored a new book, We Do Language: English Language Variation in the Secondary English Classroom (Teachers College Press, 2014).
 
The publisher’s website notes, “We Do Language builds on the authors' highly acclaimed first collaboration, Understanding English Language Variation in U.S. Schools, and examines the need to integrate linguistically informed teaching into the secondary English classroom. The book meets three critical goals for preparing English educators to ensure the academic success of their students. First, the book helps educators acquire a greater knowledge of language variation so they may teach their students to analyze the social, cultural, and linguistic dimensions of the texts they read in class. Second, the chapters provide specific information about language varieties that students bring with them to school so that educators can better assist students in developing the literacy skills necessary for the Common Core State Standards. Third, the text empowers educators to build their linguistic awareness so they may more fully understand, respect, and meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. We Do Language features concrete strategies, models, and vignettes, as well as classroom materials developed by English educators for English educators. It is essential reading for anyone interested in learning about the role that language plays in the experiences of students, both in secondary and postsecondary environments.”
 
Professor Shirley Brice Heath of Stanford University writes in an endorsement to the book, “Full of advice and support for walking hand-in-hand with students into imaginative ways of understanding the realities of language variation, this book is pure joy for teachers and college counselors. Even more important is the guarantee that when these educators embrace the humanity and philosophy so touchingly illustrated by the authors, the intrigue of thinking deeply about speaking, writing, and reading is sure to follow for students." 

To find the book on Amazon, please visit: http://amzn.to/1cZY0fH

The Baltimore Sun’s special education supplement last month featured William D’Eugenio ’14, theatre, and Nyalls Hartman, theatre, as they discussed the features of the Black Box Theatre and the Performing Arts and Humanities Building Theatre.

D’Eugenio spoke about the influence the new facilities had in his decision to apply to UMBC and become a part of the theatre design and production program, saying that “they are built to the standards of today and offer a real broadway style experience. Working with lighting systems that are being used in professional theaters gives me an advantage when applying for jobs.”

Read more of the article, “More than Just Performing: Music, Theatre Students Learn Diverse Skills”