William Paterson Students Visit Vieques, Forge Radio Partnership:

WAYNE -- More than 1,600 miles may separate Wayne from the tiny Puerto Rican island of Vieques, but for one group of college students, its people will remain close to their hearts despite the ocean between them. Nearly four months after Hurricane Maria touched down, battering the secluded island and knocking out its only radio station, nine communications students from William Paterson University traveled to Vieques this month for a weeklong humanitarian mission. The students, including members of the college radio station's staff, donated equipment and expertise, and lent a helping hand to the island's ongoing efforts to rebuild. "Flying in, what stood out was all the blue FEMA tarps serving as makeshift roofs," said student Aziza McGill Ayinde. "Where there were once houses, you saw tents and a foundation." Vieques, located off Puerto Rico's southeast coast, became internationally known in 2003 when a series of protests led to the decommissioning of a U.S. Navy base that had used much of the island as a bombing test site since the 1940s. As part of the mission, William Paterson students gifted Radio Vieques' cadre of volunteers with a new computer and ham radio training to help maintain communication should the station go dark again.

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