D Y S O N Y E A R I N R E V I E W • 2 0 1 7 – 2 0 1 8
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Una nueva perspectiva
Through film, academics, and outstanding alumni, Dyson is expanding
knowledge and deepening understanding of Latin America and the
Latina/o/x community.
From students documenting the devastation left by
Hurricane Maria and faculty launching a new major devoted
to the study of the Latinx community, to an alumnus
dedicated to digital strategy, Dyson College is creating new
opportunities to study and share the stories of Latin America
and today's Latina/o/x community.
On Camera
Puerto Rico: Hope in the Dark (available on YouTube
and via the Dyson Year in Review 2017-18 digital
edition), which tells the story of the faith, strength,
and hope that has sustained the people of Puerto
Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, is the most
recent production out of the Media, Communications,
and Visual Arts (MCVA) travel documentary course
led by MCVA Professor Maria Luskay. Eighteen
students and two faculty mentors, Luskay and
Aime Rodriguez '14, traveled to Puerto Rico over
spring break to capture the physical and emotional
wreckage left in Hurricane Maria's path.
The documentary generated media buzz on
local news outlets including FiOS 1 and News 12, and
prior to the premiere, Luskay and student filmmaker
Gabriel Rivera '18 were interviewed live on ABC 7's
morning talk show Tiempo, with Joe Torres, to recount
their emotional experiences in Puerto Rico.
Pace President Marvin Krislov arranged for the
film to be screened on both Pace campuses, and
after a sold-out premiere at the Jacob Burns Film
Center in Pleasantville on May 1, 2018, Hope in the
Dark became the first-ever MCVA student-produced
documentary to have an encore screening at the
Schimmel Center in New York City on May 7, 2018.
Since then, the documentary has garnered
more than 6,000 views on the MCVA YouTube
channel and generated conversations about the
recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.
Student crew member filming on location in Puerto Rico.
