IT sounded like a scam. Three weeks after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, Brown University was offering to pick up 40 of the island’s top students in a private jet and shuttle them to the Ivy League school to study for a year. And it would all be free.
Coral Murphy was suspicious, but she applied anyway. Even after the acceptance e-mail arrived, she still had doubts. Reality set in only after she got to the airport and boarded the jet, where students were served sparkling water and sandwiches garnished with edible flowers.