Education should start and end with the physical, moral, and intellectual development of human beings.
"Carta-contestación al señor Luis Rodriguez Velasco," F.P.A.- I, O.C. - 39, 41
—Eugenio María de Hostos
Hostos Community College has been committed to social justice from the moment it opened its doors in 1968. This month we honor Eugenio María de Hostos 182nd birthday (Friday, January 11, 1839), because since the beginning, we have striven to educate and empower, just as Don Eugenio fought for education and self-empowerment throughout his life.
His birthday offers us the opportunity to hear from the man himself, through the work of retired Professor Orlando José Hernández and his timeless book, Eugenio María de Hostos 50 Aphorisms/50 Aforísmos. This labor of love is a collection of the man’s most meaningful and insightful quotes, and this is the perfect time to reflect on their meaning.
Hostos Community College will continue to be inspired by his ideals and guided by his moral compass as a defender of equal rights. We toast this humanist and educational revolutionary who understood that education is a right -- not a privilege.