Over the first 100 days of his second term, President Donald Trump has sought to restructure much of the U.S. government, signing a record number of executive orders. He has established the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) in an effort to decrease government “bloat,” pushed for an economic policy approach that prioritizes high tariffs on imports, and attempted to bypass the courts to further his crackdown on immigration.
The effects of Trump’s transformative agenda have been reshaping the higher education landscape, pushing universities, including UChicago, to rethink academic norms and funding mechanisms. Policies targeting student visas, federal research funding, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives continue to affect campuses across the country.
The Maroon spoke with UChicago Democrats co-president Robbie Hlatki and UChicago Republicans member Eduardo Ribeiro about how they, as college students, view the early moves of the second Trump administration.
Note: These excerpts have been selected from separate interviews with Hlatki and Ribeiro and edited for clarity and brevity.
Restructuring of Higher Education
The Maroon reported earlier this month that funding for UChicago research on HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 was slashed as part of Trump’s effort to reduce “wasteful” government spending. The University has also quietly removed DEI language from its public-facing websites since Trump’s election last November. Critics have argued that universities have a responsibility to resist federal pressure, while others welcome the scaling back of DEI programs.
Now, a growing number of U.S. higher education institutions are opposing what the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AACU) has referred to as “government overreach,” threatening academic freedom.
Funding Cuts
● Robbie Hlatki (UChicago Democrats): [There’s] only so much that I think this University can do to fight back—I mean, I would like to see them not make deals with the [Trump] administration and try to find ways to continue funding our research programs without federal funding… I know it’s very difficult, but difficult times call for creative actions. I think that we should kind of press the University to take some creative actions to maintain the funding that is so critical to this institution and to our country, without relying on the federal government, and that’s a very difficult thing.
● Eduardo Ribeiro (UChicago College Republicans): I think academic freedom should be preserved above everything else. I don’t think a government —any government, not Trump or Biden, any government—I don’t think the government should have the right to say what a professor, what a researcher, can do in their job, or, as a matter of fact, what a student can say in the classroom. I think that’s just unacceptable and breaching the First Amendment. So, in terms of academic integrity, I don’t think [Trump’s approach has] been a good idea so far.
Harvard has a [$53.2] billion-dollar endowment—that’s bigger than most countries’ [GDP]… I don’t think they should be getting any government money for almost anything. [The size of elite schools’ endowments] justifies cuts as a whole. I think they would be better off putting this [$2.2] billion [of frozen funding]… into helping all the community colleges or state-funded colleges.
UChicago has a very strong financial position, and it should be able to take care of itself without government funding. I’m not saying it does, I’m saying it should… And I feel like the university is still helping out all students as best as possible.
DEI Rollbacks, Identity Politics
● RH: I mean, we’re very early in the process [of Trump’s anti-DEI policies]. To be honest, I’m not privy to all the details of what the University has done in response to the federal decrease, [but] I would hope that centers like the Center for Identity + Inclusion that are really important to a lot of people on campus, students on campus, I hope those stay operational and continue to support students on our campus.
I would hope that the University does not [eliminate those diversity-focused programs]. It’s one thing to eliminate some words here or there. You know, it sucks. You have to do it. But I don’t think that’s the end of the world.
● ER: I don’t think DEI helps anyone. Of course it helps the people that are being self-selected, but, as a whole, I don’t think we’re benefiting from DEI…
If you go to the Democrats’ website, there’s like, maybe 20 bullet points of people [they] represent, and there’s like immigrants, LGBTQ people, Black people, women. There’s not young men. I just think people caught up to that. They were like, “Why are you not representing me?”
Biden was almost guided out of the [first presidential] debate by his wife because he couldn’t go down a flight of stairs. I don’t think that man would have been shot in the ear and lifted himself up. And I think that inspired a lot of young men.
Visa Revocations
One of the most controversial moves by the Trump administration has been its revocation of many international students’ visas. In one particularly contentious case, a Tufts University student was reportedly detained after writing an op-ed for the campus newspaper criticizing the university’s response to student activism regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
At UChicago, ten current students and recent graduates had their visas revoked. The ten have since had their Student and Exchange Visitor Program statuses restored, but new ICE policies granting the government broad power and discretion in the termination of international students’ legal status have generated more uncertainty.
● RH: International students have diverse perspectives. They really bring a very valuable insight into the classroom and into the workroom and studies and all that. And it’s a shame that a country that used to so value education is demonizing people for not conforming to whatever political beliefs that they agree with. And I hope—it looks like, to my knowledge—the University is doing everything they can to protect those students, but it’s scary.
It’s one thing, if you’re here committing real crimes… but [for many of these visa revocation cases] it’s free speech. And I believe that if you are in the United States, you are subject to the laws of the United States, the Constitution of the United States, and therefore you should have freedom of expression and due process. And we’re not seeing the administration—federal administration—abide by that, and that’s really disheartening, but I hope the University will stand up for those values and its own values.
● ER: I think that the Tufts case was a little harsh, in that it kind of warned people. I don’t think he’s going to deport people because of things they say. I think that was an extreme case that he made an example of. I feel bad for the student because [she] was a pawn in all of this, I believe.
Foreign Policy
Trump has escalated his economic attacks against a number of countries, imposing a 145 percent tariff on China and other large tariffs on U.S. allies. American consumers are expected to feel the effects as prices begin to rise and global supply chains are disrupted. Trump has argued that the economic strain from inflation and price increases in the short run will make the U.S. stronger and more self-sufficient in the long run.
Tariffs and Economic Policy
● RH: I mean, he was elected on lowering prices, and he’s not doing that, and this is only going to raise prices. I think tariffs have a role revitalizing making chips in America for national security purposes. I get it, revitalizing our auto industry, sure. But… we’re putting tariffs on coffee, and we can’t even grow coffee in the United States—it’s just stupid. And… it’s just inconsistent, what [reasoning] the administration is putting out. Is it for negotiating? Is it just how we’re going to revitalize America and make everything in America? I believe we should make a lot of things in America, and tariffs are a tool, but I don’t think it’s right to have a blanket tariff that demoralizes the horde.
● ER: Tariffs [increase] prices. That is true… but at the same time, you [have] got to ask yourself, why didn’t Biden drop any of [the] tariffs [Trump imposed during his first term]? This is something that was addressed by Scott Bessent, secretary of the treasury. For a 20 percent tariff in—I think he was talking about China—a 20 percent tariff causes around a 0.7 percent increase in prices… But the idea is that the companies are going to have to eat a little bit of the tariff prices. And Chinese companies are going to have to subsidize a little of the tariff prices in order for the U.S. companies to still do business with them, and of course some of the price [hikes are] going to go through the consumers.
[Note: The Biden administration kept and expanded tariffs first enacted against China by Trump but rolled back steel and aluminum tariffs placed on Europe.]
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Trump’s focus on cutting government spending has led to the elimination of 90 percent of the U.S.’s humanitarian foreign aid programs, around $60 billion, previously put toward disaster relief, healthcare assistance, and disease prevention overseas. Still, USAID makes up less than 1 percent of the federal budget.
● RH: It seems like we’re going towards an isolationist framework of foreign policy, an isolationist strategy of foreign policy, and I think that is going to have really adverse effects on how we’re perceived throughout the world, and it’s going to open the doors for countries like China to influence on the world stage and become a dominant power on the world stage. And when countries don’t trust us to defend them, like our NATO allies and our allies in Southeast Asia and Eastern Asia, I just think it has very adverse effects.
I mean, the effect [of pulling back USAID] is they save money and budget. That is, honestly, I think some of the best money spent. Truthfully, I know it’s not helping Americans, but it’s helping Americans’ image, and we devote millions of dollars towards the President’s golf trips… This [USAID] is protecting and helping—it’s human.
● ER: I’m not a big fan of USAID, not the way it’s been used for the past few years… What was created back in the day as a soft power tool to have American interests spread around the world monetarily, not only militarily, is now being used to throw money away for no reason… [Now, it’s sending aid to] some random country for some non-geopolitical reason. I don’t think that makes sense.
Looking Ahead
Trump’s overall approval rating has dropped to 44 percent, while 52 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president, according to April polling numbers. Among his voter base, Trump’s approval rating has dipped but remains high at 88 percent, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
● RH: I think I knew going into the election that it was a race between a leader who had democratic values against an authoritarian, undemocratic individual [who’s] willing to go break the law and go past the extent of the law to pass whatever policy he deemed correct on any particular day—it’s not a really consistent platform.
I mean, I think [the Trump Administration is] terrible for the country. It’s really concerning, and I think it’s going to cause a lot of damage for many, many generations, and I’m going to do everything I can to fight it. And UCDems are going to do everything we can to fight it… I hope more Americans wake up to this idea that this man never should have been elected in the first place, and a lot of it’s the Democrats’ fault.
● ER: I think that people that voted for him and people that were expecting him to win are… surprised about how fast things are going but not at the action that he’s taking… The number of crossings [at the border] has significantly decreased, which was something that he promised. He put tariffs on, which is something that he’d also promised. He’s pushing for the bill in Congress—the tax bill—which is something that he also promised… [A]ll that he’s promised, he’s working towards, or has already accomplished and maybe overdone some aspects.
I think [the Trump Administration] is generally a… good prospect for the country. Not saying I would agree with everything. There’s things I disagree [with], but generally, I think it’s good. Over time, things better go back to equilibrium again, after all the tariffs, ins and outs and all the back and forth he’s doing. It will all come to equilibrium.
