University of the Virgin Islands

This is an opportunity for us to enhance and celebrate the importance and the centripetalness, if we will, like how African art and African global art, African diasporan art are at the center of a lot of the creativity The initiatives, irrespective of some of the many challenges that we've had for centuries yeah I think I would love for you to speak of the key art fair element and the connection that has with really supporting.

HBCUs in the region, inclusive of the University of the Virgin Islands, and what the vision is with that so that we can actually make this something that is, yes, it's beautiful, it's engaging, there's a lot of networking, a lot of potential opportunities for future funding.

That $30 billion part, we're going to come back to that.

Because at some point, persons forget.

of art i'm just going to put that out there, I think it's also important to know that there are you know students.

that are part of this from HBCUs.

So whether it's Howard University, Chadwick Boseman, College of Fine Arts, Spelman, in this case, like last year, the University of the Virgin Islands, which is the only historically black college and university in the Caribbean, in addition to being a land grant institution.

We did not get to participate last year, but this year we're going to be having the opportunity to participate and share, as you heard from Brother Ludlow Bailey.

So the beats.

And it recorded live at the University of Virgin Islands.

I'm seeing Thomas with a sample of Cassie Vinton St. Croix.

Okay,

yes i can hear you now okay we're good now um the you you were taking a strong stance and you mentioned corruption elaborate on that before we go to the other topics

okay let me premise let me premise this response with off the top let's talk about the the budget let's look at the budget our governor has proposed and let's follow the numbers because big brother james let me tell you something when you follow the numbers you're going to see how you know serious of a problem we're dealing with in this in this territory he proposed a budget of nine uh 958 million dollars of that day i think 739 million or so it's coming from the general fund out of the whole We already have a $59 million deficit.

I think some of that money, I think $132 million of it is going towards the health and hospital, UVA and VI waste management.

Let's follow the numbers.

Yeah, of course.

I mean, uh, uh, I w- I'm a product of UVI.

I took courses there after I finished my undergraduate.

I was a professor at UVI, um, in the Marine Science Department from 2015 until I took the position with DPNR in 2021, and I'm still courtesy faculty at UVI.

And I think we have...

The reason I chose to come back after I got my PhD is that this place has so much promise, right? We are a territory surrounded by water.

Where would you play?

I played at five different colleges all around the country, different JUCOs, University of the Virgin Islands.

I get it.

okay

For example, several of Epstein's victims needed visas.

To that end, First Lady de Jong arranged for Epstein to meet with a local immigration lawyer to assist at least one woman, Example 95, and contacted the University of the Virgin Islands to find out whether three young women could enroll there to obtain student visas.

First Lady de Jong asking Epstein what visas the ladies have and trying to arrange English as a second language classes for them.

Example at 96, First Lady Dijon corresponding with Vice President for Institutional Advancement at UVI about enrolling students for English as a second language classes at USVI.