Lexie Shadix, Campus Carrier deputy news editor
Trump signed an executive order on March 20 “returning power over education to families instead of bureaucracies.” According to the factsheet whitehouse.gov released, the executive order directs the Secretary of Education to facilitate the closure of the DOE, effectively returning power to the states regarding education. President Trump’s feelings regarding this department are no secret, as he has loudly and repeatedly called for it to be dismantled.
The factsheet claims the DOE has spent over $3 trillion since its founding without effectively improving student achievement as measured by the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) scores. This is not entirely false. The Center for Education Reform published an article on Jan. 29, 2025, reviewing the scores and stating that “the health of the nation’s schools remains in decline, as reading proficiency plummeted and mathematics scores saw modest gains.”
On March 21, the Associated Press (AP) published an article detailing what the dismantling of the DOE may mean for students and teachers across the country. Their consensus was that, in the short term, teachers and parents won’t see much of an impact, but the long term impact will depend on how Education Secretary Linda McMahon decides to distribute the functions of the DOE to other areas of government and the states, as well as how the states decide to distribute federal money from the department to help educate poor, disabled or non-English speaking students.
McMahon has said that federal programs such as the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), will be maintained, but students may experience some issues when trying to fill out their forms as the DOE’s workforce has significantly decreased. The Department’s workforce has gone from 4,133 workers to 2,183 since Trump’s inauguration.
There has been unrest and discourse over many of Trump’s decisions these past few months. Berry is no exception to that.
“I think the overall sentiment of students in regards to [politics on] the national stage has gotten more significant,” Sachal Denney, a senior and president of the Student Government Association (SGA), said. “Student interest has certainly grown [and] students are more concerned about where their ideologies are.”
Students have expressed concern about the future of their educational journey in light of Trump’s recent policy changes.
“I’ve heard some students [are] concerned about President Trump’s cuts to funding that will directly impact their future careers as well as some of the organizations and activities that they’re involved in now,” Denney said.
Various groups on campus have been working to keep students up to date on policy changes, as it can be difficult to stay informed when something major seems to be occurring nearly every day. The Young Democrats chapter at Berry is one of these groups. They have made the shift from advocating for people to vote to focusing more on informing students of current affairs.
“[We have shifted to] educating people about the policies that are being enacted, because there’s a lot going on and it can be really hard to keep track of everything,” Sam Russell, a junior and treasurer for the Young Democrats, said. “We’ve also been trying to educate people about political literacy and about how to read news sources and [identify] the biases.”
Throughout Berry, and other college campuses in the US, there may also be worries about visits from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).
“I know that certain professors are kind of worried about if ICE came to Berry College,” Russell said.
While political activism has not climbed to the same degrees as activism at other university campuses has, it has slightly increased at Berry.
“I think some students, like I know some of my friends, are trying to be more [politically] active,” Russell said. “Instead of being like ‘Oh man, somebody should do something,’ people are looking more at what they can do right now about things. And some of that is just posting flyers around with certain resources or just kind of discussing certain ideas.”
Berry students have managed to maintain a level of civility in their increased political engagement.
“To our surprise, we were anticipating a little more student activism and engagement starting last semester,” Denney said. “But it is our opinion that our students, though politically motivated and engaged in the culture, also have a very unique sense of professionalism. We are very interested in policy [and] thinking through items of business that are passing through Washington. We have seen more student engagement in the political sphere when it comes to clubs [as] we’ve seen a number of interest groups pop up.”
Since Trump’s inauguration, Berry, for the most part, has not been shy about communicating to students the steps they are taking in light of this new administration’s various policies.
While students on college campuses may be safer than some other populations, they are not immune to facing backlash as a result of Trump’s policies. For example, Mahmoud Khalil, a graduate student of Columbia University, was arrested by Federal immigration authorities for participating in the university’s protests against Israel. ICE told Khalil that they would be effectively revoking his green card.
This was, according to the AP, “a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s pledge to detain and deport student activists.” This is also the first publicaly known deportation effort that has fallen under Trump’s promise to crackdown on students who actively protest sagainst the war in Gaza.
“I think that Berry overall has done a good job ensuring students that we will be carrying out our school’s purpose despite what changes might be happening in the federal government,” Denney said.
The Trump administration has faced backlash over their choice to dismantle the DOE. According to the New York Times, a lawsuit was filed against the administration four days after Trump signed the order closing the Education Department. The lawsuit was filed by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of University Professors and a pair of public school districts in Massachusetts.
Furthermore, to eliminate the department entirely will require the consent of Congress, and the Republicans can likely expect to face opposition from the Democrats.
Students who may have concerns can reach out to SGA. They host student feedback nights throughout the semesters to ensure student voices across campus are heard. Leaders in SGA can help put students in contact with the faculty most suited to assist their individual needs, as they work in tandom with many of the departments and offices at Berry.
SGA can help put students in contact with the faculty most suited to assist them.
“SGA is interested in supporting our students in any way possible,” Denney said. “We have connections from the provost office all the way to the Board of Trustees.”
As with many things Trump has done, the most certain thing that can be said is that the true impact of his actions will remain unknown for some time.
Students who want to stay up to date with the president’s actions can visit whitehouse.gov, which details many of his executive orders. They can also visit sources like the AP, which continually covers the most recent news. They can also watch for information released from various Berry departments across campus.