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The Miami Hurricane

The Miami Hurricane, founded in 1925, is the University of Miami’s award-winning, student-run newspaper. I joined the newsroom in 2022 as a staff writer, contributing to both the News and Arts and Entertainment sections. In 2023, I stepped into the role of Managing Editor, a position I held until graduating in 2025.

During my time on the paper, I had the opportunity to report on stories that mattered deeply to the campus community, advocating for students navigating challenges related to financial aid, student organizations, and campus life, while also pursuing the kind of storytelling that first drew me to journalism. One career highlight was interviewing Gloria Estefan for a special Hispanic Heritage Month edition, a full-circle moment that fulfilled a childhood dream.

Scroll below to read a selection of my published work.

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Where are the Black people?’ Student leaders express concern after drop in Black enrollment

Holding open the door on scholarship weekend in Spring 2024, alumnus Derryl Barnes kept looking over his shoulder wondering if more students were coming. Among the sea of new premier scholarship recipients invited to meet their peers, Barnes saw almost no students that looked like him.

Something was off.

At Horizons, a pre-orientation program known to bring together multicultural students, Student Government Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council Chair Alexis Owens was confused after meeting just one Black student.

Then came a wave of half-filled organization meetings.

The first general body meeting for United Black Students, the first formally recognized Black student organization at the University of Miami, had only three first-year students in attendance. Historically, there have been lines out the door.

The shockingly low presence of first-year Black students confirmed student leaders’ concerns – Black enrollment was down.

In a statement to The Hurricane on Sept. 16, the data released by the University of Miami revealed that Black enrollment had been nearly cut in half, making up only 5% of the Class of 2028.

Students and administrators attribute this drop mostly to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled 6-3 against the use of race in college admissions, finding that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on June 29, 2023.

The class of 2028 is the first group experiencing the consequences of the post-affirmative action admissions process, and across the country universities have reported a decrease in select race groups, predominantly those identifying as Black.

“Within the multicultural identity, sure, it’s more diverse, but with that diversity came a decline in the Black student representation,” Owens said.

This is a cause of concern for student leaders across campus who spend hours planning events and leading organizations to guarantee spaces on campus for Black students.

“That’s a whole class of students that don’t have as much community within themselves that can go on after I graduate,” Owens said. “Who’s carrying our legacy?”

The student leader’s concern

At UM, Black students fought for a voice on campus. The University did not desegregate until 1961, when the Board Of Trustees voted to “admit qualified students without regard to race or color.” Six years later, UBS was founded.

In 1968, UBS students staged a sit-in in then-University President Henry King Stanford’s office demanding an increase in Black enrollment, faculty and minority scholarships. Their work continued for decades, despite frequently facing arrest or disciplinary action from the school.

For over 60 years Black students have worked to solidify their presence as advocates for belonging and cultivated spaces for students to connect with their culture and learn about others. From Black pre-health organizations to Black Creatives Collective, their large community has allowed for widespread impact.

In 2022, four Black students competed in the Homecoming pageant and won, representing their organizations and cultures on the Royalty Court. Before this year, the past three Student Government presidents – Landon Coles, Jamie Williams and Niles Niseem – were Black.

“Those are influential people. Pillars on the campus who wouldn’t have been there,” Barnes said

The Gravity Magazine and UMTV’s The Culture were started by Black students to provide opportunities for other Black students to showcase their experiences, talent and creativity.

Annual events like Taste of Africa and the Hairology hair show regularly gather crowds of over 300 students.

“I owe it to places like UBS, the Caribbean Students Association, Planet Kreyol, African Student Union, just providing a space where people of color can come together and not only be educated on cultures that are not their own, but also to have community with other other people of different backgrounds, even though we’re different from each other.” UBS President Zuri Greenlee said.

According to these student leaders, this is what the University of Miami stands to lose if Black enrollment rates continue to fall.

“I definitely am concerned,” Greenlee said. “Just in terms of SAFAC, they go based off of your members. As the seniors graduate, and people leave, we’re going to start not having as much funding.”

Since the start of the semester the DEI Council has heard concerns from students who are in classes finding that they are the only Black student in the room. Student leaders have also expressed concern over low turnout at events, programs and outreach efforts that have had no problem succeeding in the past.

“You feel underrepresented, or you don’t feel heard, or you don’t feel as valued in certain spaces, because then you feel like maybe I don’t deserve to be in that space,” Owens said. “That is another hindrance of just being proud of getting into this school, getting this education, being in this environment. It can be hard, because then you’re like, do I really belong here?”

Specific representation matters

As a whole, the University’s diversity numbers remained about the same at 44%, with Hispanic students increasing as much as Black students decreased in the Class of 2028. Barnes explained that despite the diversity numbers looking good on paper, it is important for students of color to see others that look like them.

“Say UM is the number one football team in the nation, they’re going to turn that camera, point it in the stands and every single person in those stands is either white or white-passing Hispanic. It’s just going to give a certain illusion, right?” Barnes said.

Seeing Black students succeeding across campus was one of the main factors that led Barnes to choose UM over other universities. In high school, Barnes was often the only Black student in his Advanced Placement and honors classes. UM offered him a new opportunity to immerse himself in a Black community that had his same ambitions and commitment to academic achievement.

“Right off the bat it [UM] already felt more like home than the other schools that I was going to,” he said.

Where does UM go from here?

Understanding that these effects are largely outside the University’s control, Black student leaders are simply asking to be included in the conversation.

“What is the plan to make sure that we’re admitting black students in the school, because at the end of the day, our organizations cannot continue without those black students,” Greenlee said.

“Having that dialogue between us will go a long way to see even what we can do on our end to prevent this from happening in the future.”

Nearly 30 parents move to sue the Cloisters living facility over unlivable conditions

Feces in the bathtub, broken air conditioning and no internet connection are just a few of the horror stories new tenants of the Cloisters Miami experienced at move-in this weekend.

Paired with midterm season and record heat, fed-up families and students see no other solution but to hire attorneys and pursue legal action.

This follows the multiple move-in delays that forced would-be residents of the Cloisters, an apartment and townhome complex 0.5 miles from the University, into hotels for 30 days while they waited for their apartments to be move-in ready.

Upon arrival, students and families saw unfinished units that were visibly damaged.

“My entire apartment was flooded with sewer water one day after I moved in, in a bathroom I had never used. It leaked into every room, soaking everything.” Higgins said.

Higgins proceeded to call the emergency number provided but received no answer. She later received a text saying that a hotel would be provided for her for the night. This never happened and Higgins was forced to book a room herself.

“The pain, stress and frustration this place has put me through is more than any college student should be handling,” Higgins said in a Google review. “Never live here or [you will] regret your entire stay — mine was one night.”

Isabella Caridade, a sophomore studying health sciences, entered her apartment for the first time through an unlocked door and found construction workers running power cords out of her apartment to power their tools and fans.

“Meanwhile, I pay my electricity bill. I found that very interesting and I got really upset. So that was problem number one,” Caridade said.

After taking a look around the unit, Caridade began to notice other issues including broken air conditioning, an unsealed floor, unfinished trims and broken ventilation in the bathroom, jagged tiling and insects all over the apartment.

“It says it’s 80 degrees but my thermostat is set at 70,” Caridade said. “I’ve put in multiple work orders over the past few days and no one has responded until today [Sept. 26] when I said that I would take legal action if I felt ill due to the heat.”

Caridade’s mother, like many other parents, joined the Facebook group “The UM Cloister Cluster” to voice her concerns about her daughter’s living situation.

“[Isabella] got back from classes today and there were muddy shoe prints all over her kitchen floor and the thermostat was turned down to 68. Is this their idea of fixing it???!?” Caridade’s mother said in her post.

In the Facebook group, parents have been sharing updates as they reach out to the building developers, leasing agents and representatives from Landmark Properties, the real estate firm developing the Cloisters Miami.

Elyse Zaccarro, the mother of a would-be resident, has been in contact with City of Miami inspectors and local reporters hoping to bring more attention to what her family has experienced in the last two months.

Zaccarro’s son is a third-year transfer student, rooming with an International student from Greece. The family signed their lease with the Cloisters on Aug. 9, only to receive an email that their move-in was delayed four days after.

“Given Landmark Properties’ reputation and the amount of work they do with off-campus student housing, they must have known this delay was happening,” Zaccarro said. “Why would they let us sign these leases?”

After researching their options, Zaccarro, in communication with her son’s roommate’s family in Athens, decided not to take possession of the apartment and move into another complex, even though they are still paying rent to the Cloisters.

As communicated to Zaccarro by Landmark Properties, the only way to break the lease was to find another person to take it over.

“This is an impossibility when the site looks like it does, and there was no move-in day.” Zaccarro said. “What we were told was, if you try to break the lease we [the Cloisters] will bring them to court and ruin their credit.”

In response, Zaccarro felt the only solution was to hire an attorney to move to terminate the lease and release her son and his roommate from their situation.

Caridade is also looking to pursue legal action in response to her experiences.

Jacqueline A. Salcines, a University of Miami School of Law alumnus and mother to two students at the University, got involved with the case after members of the “Cool Parent Group” on Facebook brought the living situations at Cloisters to her attention. Although no legal action has been taken, Salcines began conversations with the developers’ local counsel in Coral Gables and general counsel in Georgia.

“We had a call last Thursday in order to address the letters I’ve written on behalf of about 30 parents that have retained me in an effort to negotiate their terms,” Salcines said. “They received my letter and we had that call on Thursday, but they didn’t really want to discuss the parents that wanted to get out of the contracts.”

The counsel assured Salcines all would be well by the move-in date set for the next day. After hearing the horror stories students were met with, Salcines continued to reach out to the local and general counsel, this time hearing nothing but a one-line response saying that contact was made with an onsite manager.

“I don’t feel that they’re going to be accommodating any of our demands or working with us in any way,” Salcines said. “This will likely end up in litigation. Florida statute 83.51 requires that the landlord provide a habitable property that’s up to code.”

“What we’ve seen in these pictures, with regards to both the interior and outside of the units are not, in my opinion, up to code. I think that we have a strong case, with regards to the unit’s being uninhabitable and untenable.”

Salcines has been urging parents to write letters to the landlord to protect themselves and begin building a defendable case to present in court. Florida law states that landlords have seven-days to fix an issue once a complaint is filed.

Some parents have turned to the University for help, as many found the Cloisters on the University’s off-campus resource page.

Senior Vice President for Student Affairs and Alumni Engagement Patricia A. Whitely provided TMH with a statement regarding the University’s involvement with the situation, as well as the help HRL is providing to students in dire circumstances.

“I have reached out to Landmark Properties on a number of occasions to advocate for our UM students, who have been significantly delayed in moving into the Cloisters and receiving the amenities promoted,” Whitely wrote. “Housing and Residential Life has a few beds available to assist students in their transition on campus, providing these rooms on a per diem basis with no deposit required.”

Tuesday morning the Cloisters posted to their resident’s portal alerting them that county inspectors will be on-site that day.

At the time of publication, TMH has reached out to Robert Fatora, an inspector at the Miami-Dade County Permitting and Inspection Center, but received no response.

The Cloisters Miami has also failed to respond to a request to comment.

TMH will continue to monitor the situation and provide live updates.

Click below for the follow-up stories published in this series.

Timeline: An investigation into The Cloisters “cluster”

“A complete nightmare:” A gas leak, mold and delayed repairs at the Cloisters

“The Three Musketeers”: a thrilling adventure at the Ring Theatre

“Courage is more than just arms and legs. It takes courage to be yourself,” Hector Montoto, a senior Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) musical theatre major who played the role of Father, said in the opening scene of “Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers.”

With dazzling sword fights and hilarious banter, UM’s production of “Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers” was mesmerizing from start to finish. Clean choreography and immersive staging take the audience back in time to experience an emotional story of bravery, love and friendship.

“Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers” adapts Alexandre Dumas’ story of heroic bravery for the stage. The play follows D’Artagnan, a young man who sets off for Paris in hopes of joining the King’s valiant Musketeers. However, Cardinal Richelieu has different plans. Fighting beside his new friends —Athos, Porthos and Aramis — D’Artagnan saves the King and Queen from peril.

The play originally premiered in 2006 at Bristol Old Vic, the oldest continuously working theater in the English speaking world. This adaptation included one minor adjustment with the addition of Sabine, D’Artagnan’s younger sister who poses as a boy and joins her brother on his adventures.

Dumas is known for his quintessential blend of heroics, romance and comedy and this on stage adaptation does not disappoint.

“I hope this production helps everyone remember what it was like not to see the world for what it is, but for what it could be with a little imagination, a dash of creativity and a sprinkle of encouragement,” theatre arts professor Burton Tedesco said in his director’s note.

While all actors delivered excellent performances, some stood out among the rest. Junior BFA musical theatre major Michael Stafford powerfully portrayed D’Artagnan’s character growth throughout the play. With swift movements and strong line delivery, the audience was able to experience and watch courage rise within him.

By his side was the effortlessly hilarious Dominique Karanfillian, a junior BFA musical theatre major, portraying Sabine. From her first entrance to her final bow, Karanfillian’s effective choices stole the spotlight with every line.

Making up two parts of the musketeer trio, junior BFA musical theatre majors Davis Parks (Porthos) and Christian Lane Miller (Aramis) showcased their impressive abilities to captivate an audience with humor and skill.

Junior BFA musical theatre major Eleanor J. Parks completed the fearless trio with her unique portrayal of Athos. Parks was given the opportunity to originate the role as a woman.

“Being able to show such strength, advanced fight choreography and leadership as a female was very fulfilling and exciting,” Parks said. “I am so thankful Burton trusted me with this role and [I] cannot wait for more people to experience this artistic masterpiece.”

The cast as a whole is to be commended for their incredible contribution to the production. From junior BFA musical theatre major Kyle Hendricks’ hilarious portrayal of King Louis to junior BFA musical theatre major Kishan Rao’s daunting interpretation of Rochefort, the supporting actors amplified the quality of the performance.

A particular element of this show that deserves great emphasis is the swordfighting. In UM’s BFA musical theatre curriculum, students are required to take a stage combat course. It was in this course that most of the cast learned basic fight choreography, including the rapier and dagger technique shown in play.

Playing to the historical accuracy of the production, the sword fighting scenes were mesmerizingly skillful. At some points, more than 10 actors filled the stage dueling one another, each with a real metal sword in hand.

From seamless transitions to a unique soundtrack, the technical elements of the production worked together flawlessly. Costume designer Michiko Kitayama Skinner was inspired by the historical accuracy of the time period, but wanted to bring in modern characteristics in hopes of further engaging a contemporary audience.

In order to emphasize this distinction, the musketeers wore more simplistic modern clothing like shirts and pants, while the garments of the king and queen remained exaggeratingly luxurious.

These modern instances stretched beyond the costumes and through elements such as diction and music. It is sometimes difficult to understand historical pieces simply due to the language. This production did just the opposite — each actor delivered lines in a way audiences could comprehend while holding onto the historical grammar.

As soon as you entered the theater, the audience was immersed into the sounds of modern rock music. Most prominently heard when King Louis played his chilling chess matches, this soundtrack impressively contrasted and cracked the serious composure tied to the 17th century.

No production process is without its setbacks. Because of two hurricanes, a few rehearsals were moved to Zoom and opening night was pushed to Nov. 11. Through it all, the cast and crew of “Ken Ludwig’s The Three Musketeers” persevered and continued to bring an empowering show to all of its audiences.

If you missed this production, check out the Ring Theatre website for more information on the 2023 spring season, including “The Rover” playing from March 1-10 and “Lucky Stiff” from April 20-29.

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