Following the first 100 days of 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump's administration, The Daily Pennsylvanian sat down with four politically oriented student groups to discuss campus sentiments in response to recent federal actions.
The four groups — Penn for Liberty, Penn College Republicans, Penn Democrats, and the Penn Government and Politics Association — spent the semester discussing the sweeping changes enacted by the current administration, many of which have directly affected Penn. The groups also reflected on changes in member engagement over the course of a highly politicized academic year.
Across campus, higher education funding cuts have been a source of discourse. At Penn, the White House announced that it would freeze over $175 million in federal funding, citing the University's failure to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports.
Second-year University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School student and Penn for Liberty president Caleb Waters shared that libertarians on campus have largely supported the Trump administration’s decision to defund universities.
“The federal government shouldn’t really be in the business of higher education at all,” Waters said. “So cutting spending on higher education, whether it be research or anything at all, is something libertarians would get behind.”
A spokesperson for College Republicans also highlighted the club’s discussion around funding cuts.
“A vast majority of our members are pretty disgusted at what we’ve seen on Penn’s campus in the past year,” the spokesperson said. “So if the goal is to reduce antisemitism, it’s just a matter of do you address that by cutting funds for medical research. For a lot of people the answer is no but for others, they would say yes because you have to pull any lever to make universities do what they need to be doing.”
College junior and Penn Government and Politics Association president Mia Antonacci addressed the relevance of funding cuts to Penn students.
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“It’s a unique discussion because of the closeness of the situation,” Antonacci said. “For a long time, our discussions focused on national things and international affairs. It’s an interesting kind of exercise to speak on something so close to home.”
Penn Dems President Eunho Jung wrote in a statement to the DP that the funding cuts have had a "direct and harmful impact on Penn."
"Beyond the devastating cuts to life-saving research grants, these cuts also extend to student activities on campus," Jung added. "We have been consistently calling our members of Congress to demand the restoration of critical federal funding, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting Penn’s future and the resources that make our campus thrive."
Immigration policy, specifically through the lens of student visas, has been another focus for the Trump administration.
As of April 25, all seven Penn affiliates whose visa statuses had previously been terminated, were reactivated according to a University spokesperson. This development comes amid the Trump administration backtracking on 1500 previously canceled student visas around the country.
“Revoking student visas because of opposition to Israel is outside the bounds of what a libertarian would support because it’s just a violation of free speech,” Waters said. “But looking at immigration reform as a whole, it’s harder for us as a club to form a general consensus.”
“For the most part we support controlled borders and no illegal immigration,” the College Republicans spokesperson said. “In terms of taking away student visas and people who are here legally, that’s a more mixed bag.”
Another topic that College Republicans has reflected on recently is whether Trump’s return to the Oval Office also signals a return to traditional Republican values.
“A vast majority of our members voted for Trump,” the spokesperson said. “I don’t think there’s a sentiment of regret, but I think people are seeing his attacks on free trade and other policies as a departure from what conservative voters wanted him to do.”
Throughout these policy changes, as well as the 2024 election cycle, student groups have also noticed trends in member engagement on campus.
“I feel like people are burnt out from all the talk about the election, and then the results of the election, and now the first 100 days,” a spokesperson from College Republicans said. “I think people are just trying to take a break.”
Antonacci had similar sentiments.
“The election was very, very intense,” Antonacci said. “Coming out of it, we definitely noticed a lull in engagement and participation. But now with all these new policies, I think we’re seeing people be more vocal and engaged again because of what’s at stake.”
