President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 20 calling for the dismantling of the Department of Education. This means that instead of the Education Department, authority over education will go to the states and local communities, according to Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
The executive order will have to pass through Congress first. It would have wide-ranging implications, impacting services for low-income and disabled students, federal financial aid and research grants, application of civil rights laws, and more. Specifically, Trump has indicated he plans to cancel student loan forgiveness and cut off federal money for schools and colleges that push “critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content.”
At Seton Hall, university representatives have reaffirmed the school’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. In addition, 98% of students at SHU receive some form of financial aid.
A student who asked to remain anonymous so they could avoid any public association with political views said that they are very worried about the potential effects of the dismantling of the Education Department.
“I think that a lot can go wrong with the Department of Education being dismantled, especially when it comes to financial aid and tuition costs for colleges and universities across the country,” the student said. “Taking it away takes away regulations and rules—it opens doors for a lot of stuff that isn’t great for students.”
The student also discussed their reliance on financial aid and scholarships, and how aid cuts could affect them.
“Especially since Seton Hall is a private school, so it’s higher—with the potential cuts, I feel stressed,” the student said. “This semester, I’m figuring out how I’m going to pay for housing and my classes, so if my aid got cut, it would be more stressful.”
The student added that these changes would also affect their future dramatically since they do not receive financial help from their parents, paying for SHU out of pocket.
“It’ll become a matter of if I can even finish my degree,” the student said. “If I even graduate, then I would be paying off loans for the rest of my life. How much can you really enjoy life or a job when in the back of your head you’re thinking about massive debt?”
On Jan. 29, university President Msgr. Joseph Reilly sent an email to the SHU community discussing the “host” of executive orders issued by Trump since taking office, saying the university had been “monitoring” these presidential actions.
“It is likely there will be more attempts to recalibrate the federal government’s relationship with American higher education,” Reilly said. “As these changes are introduced, university leadership will continue to remain aware of and prepared for new developments.”
Reilly added, “It is important for students to know that federal student loans and Pell Grants have not been affected by President Trump’s actions.”
Now, faced with Trump’s new executive order, there is more uncertainty as to whether Reilly’s statements will remain true.
On March 10, representatives from multiple N.J. universities met to discuss Trump’s proposed federal spending cuts for higher education and the potential consequences for students. They discussed how Trump’s move could cause nearly 143,553 middle- and low-income students in New Jersey to lose up to $725 million in financial aid through Pell Grants.
Additionally, David Rousseau, a former state treasurer now representing the Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey, which is a coalition of the state’s 13 private colleges (including SHU), said that the uncertainty coming from the Trump administration and the “very likely” negative impact on higher education and institutions is exacerbated by Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed state aid cuts to higher education.
Then, on March 11, the Trump administration made drastic cuts to the Education Department using a process known as a reduction in force, halving its staff. On March 14, the department said it had launched investigations into more than 50 universities as part of the administration’s move to end DEI practices, which culminated in schools like Harvard losing $2.2 billion and Columbia hoping to regain about $400 million in canceled grants and contracts.
When asked for an updated comment on Trump’s actions regarding the Education Department, SHU spokesperson Michael Hyland answered on behalf of the university and on behalf of the Office of Financial Aid.
Hyland said that SHU monitors federal developments closely, with plans for university leadership to communicate “directly with the community” should any changes arise.
“As of today, there have been no changes to federal student loans, Pell Grants, or other forms of student financial aid for this academic year,” Hyland said. “While awarded funds remain unaffected, we know that some federal grant programs have been suspended before decisions were made, and that fewer opportunities are currently available. At this time, there has been no direct impact on the university’s funding.”
Angelina Melendi, a freshman education and history major, said that she believed there are positives and negatives to the possible dismantling of the Education Department. She said she sees this in the homeschooling aspects for children and their families.
“It can be good and bad,” Melendi said. “I was homeschooled, and there are strict homeschooling laws for states, so with more power to states, [this] means that they can lower the strict laws.”
Although uncertain, Melendi pointed out issues she thought were prevalent after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s been issues in education since COVID; kids in high school [are at] a sixth grade reading level,” Melendi said. “By giving [power] back to the state, they can work on this internally, but I’m not sure.”
On the other hand, Melendi said she may lose her Pell Grant if Trump’s plans go through.
“I’m going to have to pay more out of pocket, and that’s going to suck,” she said.
David Goulbourne, a junior art, design, and interactive multimedia major, also discussed his feelings on the potential dismantling.
“Trying not to get super political, I will say that just from hearing the rumors, I think it’s very stupid short term and long term,” Goulbourne said. “America has enough problems with the ratio of well learned people and ignorant people. The best way of saying it is that there’s a lot more ignorance coming out than enlightenment in the past years.”
Goulbourne said he does have financial aid, and that the effects of this can affect his financial security.
“I’ve been using [financial aid] for everything; in fact, grants and awards is how I got into Seton Hall,” he said. “Removing it would be detrimental for everything I've worked for.”
Goulbourne discussed his fears post-graduation with the discrimination he says he fears as an African American.
“I feel like Trump’s going to be more selective [about] who he decides on who gets the benefits, because I’m African American,” Goulbourne said. “I think he’s going to be looking for who you are, your skin color, ethnicity, criminal record. What will happen to those [who are] non-white? What’s going to happen to the legal immigrants, especially [with] financial aid?”
He added that he has a negative outlook on what would happen if Trump’s executive order came to fruition.
“I see much more bad than good with this act being passed,” Goulbourne said.
Victory Odundoyin is a writer for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at victory.odundoyin@student.shu.edu.
