b'drop this time, he says, alluding to a handful of studentsPHOTO: RICH DAVISwho moved with their families to the United Statesafter Hurricane Maria. Currently, CSJ has an enroll-ment of 530 students. One possible outcome of the delayed school openingsis that CSJ may increase its enrollment. This is one ofmany issues the Marianists at CSJ try to anticipate asPHOTO: RICH DAVISthe ground beneath them keeps shifting. There areother ripple effects caused by the earthquakes thatare hard to predict. Already, business has slowed inmany sectors, especially tourism, upon which the island relies heavily, and many new building projectshave come to a halt.Both Pilar and Pedro also worry about the long-termimpact on people in the south. Those who lost every-thing also are some of the poorest, says Pedro. Manyrely solely on tourism to survive. The quakes willdevastate their economy. It will take the whole island We always encouragecoming together to help them. our students to lookThe lingering effects of Hurricane Maria also are for the good in anyevident, especially in the rural areas. About 50 percent tragedy and see howof homes and businesses across the island of 3.5 million they can help,people have recovered, but many still wait for govern-ment funding or have simply abandoned their prop- Brother Francisco Gonzlez, SMerties. Puerto Rico is small, and everyone knowssomeone still affected, says Pilar. Always something we can doThe earthquakes present unique challenges. PuertoStudents at Colegio San Jos now practice earthquake prepared- Ricans know how to prepare for hurricanes, especiallyness drills, in addition to other safety protocols, at the school. with advanced warning systems. But with an earth-quake, you never know when it will hit, says Pedro.Ripple effects That level of uncertainty left students at CSJ feelingAfter the Jan. 7 quake, Brother Francisco patrolled the on edge, says Diego Gerena, student council president.school grounds, assessing potential safety hazards, and Even though San Juan was spared much of the damage,called engineers to inspect the building. Fortunately, and the students werent affected personally, there isthere was no structural damage, and school resumed still a sense of dread, says Diego. He wonders howalmost immediately. Other schools were not so fortu- they can find their way back to normal. We need tonate. We were one of the few schools that could open, accept that earthquakes are now part of our lives he says. Most private schools in the area remained that this is our new normal, he says.closed, not because of damage, but because they didnt One way to overcome anxiety and fear is to takehave enough engineers to evaluate the properties to action. We always encourage our students to look forpass inspections. As of this writing, public and private the good in any tragedy and see how they can help,schools gradually are opening across the island. says Brother Francisco. We gathered supplies forPeople are anxious to get back to normal, says people hardest hit by the quakes, and we will continueBrother Francisco. I had to reassure our CSJ families to look for ways to assist them. There is always some-that everything is all right. And our enrollment didnt thing we can do to help others in distress.\x00Want to help? You can help purchase supplies for those impacted by the earthquakes in Puerto Rico or provide tuition assistance forstudents impacted by recent natural disasters by enclosing a check in the envelope enclosed, or go to marianist.com/donate-to-colegio-san-jose.marianist.com/donate 7'