For over a century, Puerto Rico – or officially, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico – has been a U.S. territory. But in a two-part Nov. 6 referendum this year, 53 percent of Puerto Ricans voted for change from the nation’s current status. 65 percent of those who responded to the second part of the referendum wanted to become a state.

“Essentially, the process for becoming a state in the U.S. is not necessarily too complex,” government teacher James Ziegler said. “Why I think it might be difficult, at least in the near-term future, for Puerto Rico to become a state would just be more politics related than anything else, more partisanship related than anything else.”

Ziegler said that the Republican House of Representatives is unlikely to vote Puerto Rico into statehood, since Puerto Rico will likely be solidly Democratic.

Yet even before the barrier of partisan rivalries in America, there were obstacles in Puerto Rico.

Senior Sarina Salazar said, “I feel like it’s fine as is. I don’t really know what the benefits are to becoming a state. But as a country, in itself, I just feel like the culture’s so rich, and the heritage, and just everything would be altered if we did become a state.”

Salazar said that her mother is Puerto Rican, so the family returns to Puerto Rico about once a year to visit relatives.

“They keep their cultural background in a way,” said Spanish teacher Kay Vazquez. “They already have lost a lot, I think, just because they’re a commonwealth of the United States.”

Fear of cultural loss from assimilation is not the only thing barring the way to statehood.

“Right now a lot of Puerto Ricans don’t pay an income tax. They still pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, but they don’t have to pay a federal income tax,” Ziegler said.

According to Ziegler, this would change if Puerto Rico were to become a state.

Also, Puerto Rico is treated separately from the United States in events such as the Olympics, allowing it to send its own athletes to the games.

There are other issues, according to Salazar.

“English would be the primary language,” Salazar said. “And, you just lose so much of that rich culture that we have while independent while still benefiting from the United States.”

Salazar is part of the over four million other Puerto Ricans who live in the United States, as opposed to the three million some in Puerto Rico. Since 2000, more Puerto Ricans have lived in the United States than in Puerto Rico.

While all Puerto Ricans, whether they have moved to the United States or remain in Puerto Rico, are considered citizens of the United States, only those living the United States may vote in presidential elections. Also, while Puerto Rico has a seat in Congress for representation, they cannot vote.

“The infrastructure, the highways; they don’t have the federal money that other real states do,” Vazquez said. “In the long run, I have a feeling that economically it would be better for Puerto Rico.”

Ziegler said he agrees, also bringing up economics as a benefit to both Puerto Rico and the United States.

“Puerto Rico’s economy isn’t necessarily the strongest right now, and I think it would benefit from U.S. dollars going into it,” he said.

“Maybe by having a more formal tie with Puerto Rico, having them more intertwined with our economy, it would help to build our trade relations with Southern and Central America even further.”

While the change is not imminent and not local, Ziegler said he encouraged students to think about it.

“Although we are most directly influenced on a daily basis by our local and our state government policies,” he said. “This would still have an impact on national policy as well.”

For Salazar, it’s more personal than national politics.

She said, “I guess I just wouldn’t want to lose everything that we’ve kind of grown up on.”