Latest news with #HillsboroughCommunityCollege
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
A Florida student lost his visa over protests. Here's what it was like
National A Florida student lost his visa over protests. Here's what it was like Joseph Charry, who was suspended from the University of South Florida due to his role in protests related to Israel and Gaza, speaks during a press conference near the intersection of 50th Street and Fowler Avenue, on June 28, 2024, in Tampa, Florida. Charry's visa was revoked, and he returned home to Colombia before coming back to the United States to study at Hillsborough Community College. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times/TNS) TNS TAMPA, Fla. -- Joseph Charry said he didn't come to the University of South Florida to protest. But the Colombian student's role in pro-Palestine protests last spring led him to temporarily lose his visa and return home, an experience thousands of international students across the country are now facing for an array of reasons from protests to traffic infractions. While some of those have been reinstated in recent days, and prominent cases of students who were detained for their participation in protests are making gains in courts, the situation has remained murky for international students. In Florida, the numbers are unclear. Some universities have kept track of the numbers, while others have pointed to a fluid situation. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said in an email that the department does not generally provide statistics on visa revocations, and that the number changes every day. Charry, who is now a student at Hillsborough Community College, came to the U.S. in 2022 to study video art at USF. When he arrived, he attended an event where student organizations were recruiting new members in hopes of making friends outside of class. He was intrigued by a chart he saw at the table for the now-suspended Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society - an organization with a history of clashing with the university - showing the discrepancy between Tampa's Black population and Black student enrollment. The organization has had a history of clashing with the university. He joined and began attending protests. What he initially thought of as something to do outside of classes took hold. He changed his major to sociology - a subject the state removed from general education courses. "I realized that it's a real issue that students can't have their voices heard on campus, whether it be about diversity, whether it be about the subjects they want to study," he said. "I also wanted to learn more about how society worked at large, and what problems there are in society and how people could demand their rights and whatnot." Last April, Charry was involved in organizing campus protests in support of Gaza, calling on the university to divest funds from companies that support Israel and erecting tents on university property - which crosses the university's code of conduct policy. Charry - who faced no legal charges - said the university tried to place blame with conduct charges on him and their student group with escalating violence on the second day of protests that led to law enforcement's use of tear gas. But he maintains that the only violence came from police after some protesters chose not to leave after being asked to. University spokesperson Althea Johnson had said USF could not provide additional information about Charry's case due to student privacy laws, but noted "there are consequences for violating the law or university policies. USF has been clear that violence, threats, harassment and disruptions will not be tolerated." Last June, Charry learned he would be suspended from the university for a year. He appealed the conduct case, but was denied. In September, he received an email from university officials telling him that because he was no longer enrolled in classes, he no longer maintained his student status needed to keep his F-1 visa. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security would be informed that he was living as an unauthorized individual, he said, and he would need to leave by October and show proof with his plane tickets that he had left. Charry returned to Colombia, where his family worried, encouraging him to take a step back from being vocal about his beliefs. Charry said since he had been suspended, he was mulling transferring to Hillsborough Community College. Being forced to leave made it a race against time. He secured a loan, admission and his I-20, a certificate that proves full-time student status needed for an F-1 visa, after visiting the U.S. embassy in Colombia just weeks before the spring semester was to begin. Since returning, Charry said, he's felt nervous and uncertain about what could happen to his visa as protesters at other universities have been detained. Still, he said, it hasn't shaken his desire to speak out. He's been involved in local protests since. "All people have a right to due process," he said. "All people have a right to hold certain political views. It doesn't matter what they are, but they have the right to hold those views. Ahmad Yakzan, a Temple Terrace immigration lawyer, said as a former international student, his advice has changed during the second administration of President Donald Trump. His office has seen students whose visa status has changed after minor encounters with law enforcement. Some had not been charged with crimes. Yakzan advised international students to keep immigration lawyers' numbers saved. He said though Constitutional rights exist, they may not guarantee safety if the administration ignores court orders. "In this political climate, my best advice for them is for them to just stay quiet," he said. "It's sad, it's really unfair to them, but that's a political reality that we're sitting in." In an email, Johnson said if USF learns that a student's visa status has changed, "the university works to gather as much information we can about each individual situation and we make the student aware of resources that may be available." USF has also provided international students with monthly newsletters and resources to ensure their visa status is up to date. They also offer a website of immigration attorneys. Still, Charry believes that speaking out is the best way to bring change. "I know that for a lot of people, they do think that by stepping back, they're going to be safer," he said. "But I think it's actually quite the opposite if they stay silent about all these issues." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What would a new name mean for Hillsborough Community College?
Allyssa Camper squinted into the sunlight at the giant blue letters that adorn each building on Hillsborough Community College's Dale Mabry campus. 'HCC,' she said. 'H-C-C. It kind of rolls off your tongue.' Camper is 19, a liberal arts major and one of the more than 48,000 students who attend the college at least part-time. But when she graduates next year, her diploma might say something different. Florida Senate is considering a bill (SB 1624) that would rename Hillsborough Community College to Hillsborough College. The bill has been scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor for two weeks. A House version of the bill (HB 1307), which would opt for Hillsborough State College, has yet to make it out of a subcommittee in that chamber. Either way, 'community' will soon be dropped from HCC's name. It's the last of the state's 28 public colleges to lose the community nomenclature. It's part of a longstanding trend. Colleges across the county are offering more four-year degree and changing their names to reflect the blurring lines between themselves and traditional universities, according to Inside Higher Ed. Nationwide, more than 40 two-year institutions dropped 'community' from their names from 2004 to 2014, according to data collected by the Wall Street Journal. The name change also signals a perceived souring on the 'community college' brand as schools look to distance themselves from the term's association with an inferior education. Among current and former students, opinions are mixed on the name change. Some worry the renaming portends more changes to the school they see as a lifeline to an affordable, quality education. Others welcome the rebrand, mostly as a step away from the stigma carried by the phrase 'community college.' The name change isn't exactly a hot topic among HCC students. Most surveyed on recent trips to HCC's Ybor City and Dale Mabry campuses either hadn't heard about the proposal or had no strong opinion. Camper said she doesn't think the name change would impact the school's reputation as part of the community. 'Each of the campuses has such a distinct personality and is so embedded in its community,' Camper said. 'The brand is already so established, starting when you're a high school student doing dual-enrollment. I don't think the name change will affect what the school is already accomplishing.' The 'state college' title may even help the school attract more students, Camper said. 'It sounds a little bit better to me. I wouldn't mind if my degree said Hillsborough State College,' she said. The school opened in 1968 as Hillsborough Junior College, changing its name to Hillsborough Community College two years later 'to better reflect its community orientation and involvement,' according to the school's website. Colleges can drop the 'community' nomenclature or switch to 'state college' once they start offering bachelor's degrees. HCC's first four-year degree, in nursing, started in 2022. The school's board of trustees support the name change, Chairperson Gregory Celestan said, adding that it aligns with the other schools in the Florida College system and will 'lead to enhanced academic pathways.' On the other hand, Echo Durham, a graphic design major, called the rebrand 'a stupid, embarrassing thing to spend our money on.' The 23-year-old worried that the school would divert resources away from serving students and that the new name could signal a change in mission away from affordable courses. 'I didn't want the pressure of going to a state university,' Durham said. 'Here I can take a few classes and find my passion because the stakes were relatively low.' She'd seen her own mother take on student loan debt from multiple graduate degrees. 'The campus feels like a community without judgement,' Durham said. 'HCC takes everyone, regardless of income or being an A+ student.' Companies rebrand for a variety of reasons: to attract customers, to react to the market, and to stay relevant. But in any case, rebranding works best when it's reflective of the wants and needs of the target customers, said Loran Jarrett, a professor of marketing at the University of South Florida's Muma School of Business. 'Think of Coke's rebranding to New Coke in the '80s. There was horrible pushback because they had this idea and weren't listening to what their customers wanted,' she said. 'Rebranding comes with a cost,' she said. And it's often more than just new signs. So why change the HCC brand now? 'First off, they have to determine, is it just a name or does it go beyond that? It is what they offer? Is it cultural? Is it voice?' she said. But if the state is looking to shed the 'community college' stigma, there's reason to be cautious. Nearly half of Americans said they had at least 'quite a lot' of confidence in community colleges, according to a 2024 Gallup poll. Only a third said the same about four-year programs. That confidence has stayed strong even as the public's perception of higher education has fallen in the past decade. And the confidence in the country's two-year programs holds up across party lines, with 36% of Republicans approving of community colleges, compared to just 15% who support four-year colleges and universities. 'Education as a whole is really shifting for a lot of reasons, but a big one is the rising cost,' Jarratt said. 'But for community college, cost has essentially stayed the same. Whatever you get out of that with your (associate's degree) is pretty high value,' she said. 'At the end of the day people don't ask, 'Where did you go all four years?'' Ian Hodgson is an education reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, working in partnership with Open Campus.
Axios
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Your guide to Tampa Pride 2025
Tampa Pride is this Saturday, and we've got you covered on the events lineup. 🥁 A street festival kicks off at 10:45am in Ybor City with an arts and crafts show, community health fair, a performance by the Tampa Bay Pride Band, and more. Vendors will be stationed from 11am-4pm along East Ninth Avenue and in the Hillsborough Community College Ybor City campus parking lot. Food trucks will be on hand from 11am-11pm on 14th Street/Avenida Republica de Cuba between Ninth and Palm avenues. 🕺 Catch performances every hour from noon-4pm at the Tampa Pride Festival main stage in the Cuban Club Courtyard off East Ninth Avenue. Community leaders will also speak onstage at 2pm. 🎉 The Diversity Parade starts at 4pm at the corner of Nuccio Parkway and East Seventh Avenue. The route goes east along East Seventh Avenue to North 20th Street, where floats will turn left and begin to disperse. 🪩 Head back to the main stage for Pride@Night from 6pm-11pm. Shows begin at 7pm.
Axios
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Things to do this weekend: Localtopia, Fiesta Day and more
Lookin' for some fun this weekend? We've got you covered. 🛍️ Head to Williams Park for St. Pete's Localtopia. With 300 independent business and community organizations showcased, the free event is billed as a "celebration of all things local." The festival runs from 10am to 5pm on Saturday. 🖼️ Enjoy interactive public art, poetry, and dance at Hillsborough Community College's second annual " Now on View" art festival. This free one-day event takes place on Saturday, with exhibits spread across its Ybor City campus, Kress Contemporary and Hotel Haya. 🌮 Feast on Mexican cuisine at the Tampa Taco Fest, the region's biggest taco festival, featuring live music, a margarita bar, and more than 30 vendors. The event will be held on Saturday from 10am to 6pm at Al Lopez Park. General admission starts at $7. 🎉 Celebrate culture and community at the 78th Annual Fiesta Day in Historic Ybor City, featuring food, arts and crafts, live music, and traditional cigar rolling demonstrations. The free event is on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. along East Seventh Avenue.
