The Trump Administration Continues to Cut Student Financial Aid

Charlie Means, Guest Writer from Global Human Rights Advocacy 

Note: This article was written by a student of Dr. Meghan Cohen, in the class, Global Human Rights Advocacy. The Highlander is proud to serve as a platform for guest contributions and encourages collaboration between our community and our publication. 

In this current political climate, one of the biggest threats facing universities is the current federal administration’s attacks against them. If the word “attack” seems a bit harsh, that’s understandable. But, it is an apt description for what is happening right now. There are a myriad of complaints that one could make about universities in the United States, such as, they’re too expensive, the admissions process is a nightmare, there’s a lack of good gluten free options in Main Hall (that last one may be more of a personal issue). But, that does not justify the actions that the current federal administration is taking. 

As NPR put it, “The Trump administration is at war with higher education. They've cut more than $10 billion in research grants. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has locked up student activists. And now the State Department is threatening to restrict foreign students from enrolling.” Let’s break down that quote by sections, starting with the fact that Trump has cut more than $10 billion in research grants. That is an absolutely staggering number, and the impact of those cuts could be severe. Universities are where a lot of cutting edge medical research takes place. For example, the first successful Hepatitis B vaccine was made by a collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania and the Fox Chase Cancer Center. Even as recently as last year, Michigan State University received the 2025 Golden Goose Honor (a fantastic name for an award), for the success of cisplatin, which is a critical part of some of the most cutting edge cancer treatments. Because of what the current administration is doing, projects that result in developments like those might not take place anymore, and effects are already being felt. Clinical trials in several medical fields have been halted, and it could result in a large number of people dying from potentially preventable ailments. 

Moving on to the next part of that quote from NPR, where it talks about the administration's attack on international students, that should come as no surprise. Trump’s anti-immigrant stance is incredibly well documented, and “securing our borders” was one of the main issues he ran on. Since taking office, Trump has made good on his promises, particularly when it comes to universities. According to the State Department, the administration has revoked 8,000 student visas. The justification given by the State Department was that they were revoked because of criminal activities, but half of the “crimes” committed were drunk driving by college students. That is not even a reason to suspend someone from school, much less kick them out of the country. Actions like this can have a profoundly negative impact on not just these students who came here to better themselves, but for the country as a whole. These are some of the best and brightest minds coming here to learn and potentially contribute to the United States, either economically, socially, politically, or medically, just to name a few potential ways. Now these students might be going elsewhere which would be a huge blow to the United States, and it's all because they are scared to come to the United States, which should not be what we as a nation stand for. 

So what can be done about this? Frankly, in the short term, there isn’t much one can do besides protest these policies if they don’t align with your beliefs. But in the long term, paying attention to local ballot measures that come up each year that could protect universities is going to be critical, as is voting for representatives at the state and federal level to push back against this administration's policies. To close out this Op-Ed, I would like to see that we here at Regis have been fortunate to avoid much of the targeting that has befallen other universities, but it would not surprise me if we are a target at some point over the next four years. So keep reading the news, stay informed, and be prepared to stand up for what you think higher education should be.