老司机传媒

After the recent inauguration of President Donald Trump, many students are paying more attention to U.S. policy and politics out of concern for the goals and decisions made by the president and his administration. In the aftermath of the Jan. 20 inauguration, a few students were asked to give their opinions on the upcoming administration and what they believe Trump’s second term will focus on.

What are some of the premiere issues that you believe should be addressed?

“Based on my understanding of the issues the current president has laid out, I do not feel confident most of the issues important to me—like immigration, the economy, climate regulations and our position in international conflicts—will be addressed in ways I would consider positive.”

—Chris Ngugi (senior, psychology and Spanish)

“I believe that the biggest problem is inflation right now. In a healthy economy, inflation should be able to be countered by making things cheaper which are first needs to actually live. Think about natural gas in your house, electricity and health insurance, and groceries. When all these things become super expensive the people start to save up more and more money (if they have something left at the end of the month), and this will create [an] even bigger vacuum for your money since a healthy economy is a spending economy (based on actual money and not loan after loan).”

—Niels ten Caat (junior, history)

“I think some of the biggest problems in this country right now are the housing crisis, expensive health care, lack of a livable wage, and climate change. And I’d also add privacy.”

—Reagan McCain (senior, history and Spanish)

What are some things to look forward (or not look forward) to policy-wise?

“There are some things I will be looking out for, more than looking forward to, like the practical implementation of the president’s plan for mass deportation. As someone who may practice immigration law in the future, I am interested in how this plan will impact individuals deported as well as the system overall given how overloaded and underfunded immigration courts already are.”

—Ngugi

“I’m looking forward to the new [secretary of Health and] Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy. He is looking into decreasing the powerful food industry that controls all the unhealthy food that gets produced in the United States. He talks about getting rid of all these toxic products that are in your food. So, yeah, he wants to do the same thing as northern Europe.”

—ten Caat

What do you think we should be wary of?

“We should be wary of a great many things. I watched his inauguration speech and was genuinely fearful of what the next four years are going to hold. He's already signed executive orders that have set us back instead of pushing us forward, such as the repeal of the Equal Opportunity Act and how governmental policy will now recognize only two genders. The existence of so many individuals is under threat, and it's a very scary time.”

—Madison Vath (senior, English literature)

“I think it’s always fair to be wary of words and actions that make delineated groups of people look like the enemy.”

—Ngugi

“Polarization. It’s a famine that comes from both sides of the spectrum. Since you only have two parties in the States many people think in bubbles where it is you-versus-me stereotypes. Once people vote, it’s out of their control. It should be the people against the bureaucracy.”

—ten Caat

“I’m personally worried about censorship and privacy, and think others should be as well. I think everyone should be concerned with Trump’s cozy relationship with the biggest tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who were sitting in seats of honor at his inauguration (and now TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who was also present at the ceremonies). The U.S. Congress has yet to pass any kind of federal law to protect its citizens' data privacy. Data is already very valuable in our attention economy, and tech needs new data to feed the AI boom. Everybody should be very concerned with the lack of regulation on the industry and how social media algorithms can be manipulated.

—McCain

What do you believe Donald Trump and his administration will actually focus on?

“I think the biggest thing the president will focus on currently is immigration. As you can see, he’s already started. That’s always been his goal of getting rid of undocumented [immigrants], and now he’s doing it. I feel horrible for all the people this will affect, including those close to me. I also think he will focus on trying to put America into power. Like steal land from other countries and honestly try and build America into an empire. I genuinely fear this man will ruin everything and set us back years.”

—Anonymous (junior, nursing)

“I don’t know what the current administration will focus on outside of what they have shared, like their commitment to end the war in Ukraine and cut climate regulations.”

—Ngugi

“I think they will focus on putting more tariffs on foreign products, raising the profits for U.S. companies (since the BRICS countries are becoming very powerful) to help create more jobs for Americans, and the stabilization of the country may it be for the worst or for good.”

—ten Caat

“I think the administration will focus on ‘combatting woke-ism.’ Or in other words, I think they’ll scapegoat the most vulnerable people in our society while they continue to protect the ultra-wealthy minority at the cost of normal, everyday working-class people.

I’d also like to add that I’m disturbed by Trump’s immigration policy. Especially his attempt to undo birthright citizenship, a constitutionally enshrined right and a cornerstone of American values. I’m similarly disturbed by his empowerment of ICE to go into schools, hospitals and places of worship and operate at previously protected events such as weddings, funerals and public demonstrations. I don’t think people understand the problems with a plan of mass deportation—profiling is very real and not even being a U.S. citizen guarantees someone protection."

—McCain