The Headlines
Domestic concerns over US election results
There are early warning signs that a Trump presidency could pose a threat to some of the most vulnerable students as well as university research funding.
By Julie Hoeflinger
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election to office, students across the US who are most at-risk of harmful rhetoric and discriminatory policies are voicing their concerns.
The rhetoric used throughout the Trump/Vance campaign was characterised by heavy anti-immigration and transphobic sentiment. These attitudes inevitably intensify public attitudes, leading to upsurges in harassment and violence towards these groups.
A recent student found that xenophobia and hate speech were spiking in the days leading to the election, and similar outcomes were reported eight years ago when Trump was first elected to office.
Multiple demographics have been targeted, including but not limited to Black people, Hispanic people, and women. “Your body, my choice” is currently trending on social media, fuelling an unchecked misogynistic online campaign. One tweet using this slogan was shared by a young white man by the name of Nick Fuentes and has received over 44 million views, 36,000 likes, and 24,000 reposts. CEO of X, Elon Musk, halted the platform’s previous efforts aimed at reducing online hate speech and disinformation, now allowing it to spread rampantly.
“It’s made me come to realise that the most important thing now is finding security within my own community rather than looking for it in politicians."
What are students worried about?
Quincy Baxter, a recent graduate of Michigan State University, shares her concerns on how the results of this election will affect herself and younger students. “As a social worker, and going back to school to complete my Master’s in Social Work, I have genuine concern that my education and experience will be heavily impacted,” she shares.
“I am concerned that there will be funding cuts for education, severely impacting the programs, opportunities and resources provided to students. I am concerned that the rest of the nation will follow in Florida’s footsteps with stripping down education curriculum and choosing to leave out crucial pieces of history.”
Will the election outcomes impact the number of students wanting - and able - to further their education in the US? “I feel we are moving into an era where extreme hate is projected and accepted, leading people to further segregate and inflict violence on the minority,” Baxter expresses.
“These marginalised communities will be targeted by right wing militias, ultimately making their campus and environment unsafe. With this being said, I do think there will be people seeking education outside of the US.” Acknowledging that this would be financially difficult for many, it is possible that some may be turned away from higher education altogether.
Transgender students face the greatest threats
Transgender people have been hit by some of the highest levels of discrimination, with 664 anti-transgender bills being introduced in 2024, with 45 successfully passing so far. This legislation aims to remove gender-affirming care and block trans people from receiving education, legal recognition and the right to publicly exist. Should Project 2025, a 900 page dossier of proposed conservative initiatives, be implemented, anti-discrimination protections for nearly all demographics will begin to be rolled back.
With hate crimes only expected to continue rising, higher education institutions hold a responsibility to protect their students – yet they have failed to be safe spaces thus far. According to the FBI, the number of reported hate crimes at schools nearly doubled from 2018 to 2022.
“I’m feeling deeply disappointed in the way social structures and politicians on both sides of the aisle have repeatedly failed vulnerable communities and the youth, which allowed Trump to come into office,” expresses one transgender student of colour from Ringling College in Central Florida, a state that has seen some of the highest levels of anti-transgender legislation.
“It’s made me come to realise that the most important thing now is finding security within my own community rather than looking for it in politicians.”
To address these concerns and curb rising hate speech, it is critical that universities stand behind student-led movements, fund protective programs, create better systems of reporting offenses and provide safe spaces for at-risk groups.
“I think universities can safeguard their students by not being so avoidant on politics. Let students organise to speak out against what is going on, how our government has failed us,” they explain. “And [universities] should also provide more opportunities for students to connect to each other and provide mutual aid instead of overworking and isolating us.”
What are professors worried about?
The impacts of a far-right administration extend beyond human rights concerns. Some scientists and professors worry that the integrity of research in higher education and beyond faces long-lasting outcomes.
“I do fear that there will be many negative consequences on college campuses,” says Dr Gary Wenk, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience & Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at the Ohio State University.
“First, [Trump] plans on giving Robert Kennedy Jr control over the [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] that controls the [National Institutes of Health] (NIH)budget and scientific programs. He is anti-vaccination, pushes pseudoscience therapies, and wants the FDA to fund research on nonsense.
“He plans on closing down entire NIH departments that don’t follow his agenda, [which] threatens funding for university research programs. [Trump’s] administration is going to do some real damage that will reverberate through universities for many years to come.”
This week, Trump appointed Harvard graduate Pete Hegseth as the new Secretary of Defense. Last year on Fox News, Hegseth was quoted to say, “The more elite the university and advanced that a graduate is, the dumber they are, the less likely I am to trust them,” while claiming that students are revolting against “woke” universities. This kind of rhetoric against universities now coming from a position of power will have undeniable negative consequences for US higher education.
American higher education faces threats to both its research culture and its student, both of which are integral to the very foundation of its existence. Here’s the reality: LBGTQ+ people make up 17 percent of the US higher education population, immigrants make up 32 percent, and women, nearly 60 percent. Universities have not only a moral responsibility to protect its students, but also an undeniably hefty vested interest in doing so.