Ever since the start of Ferris, diversity has played a big role in development, but President Donald Trump’s new plans that directly affect minority groups are leaving those on campus unsure about the changes to come.
Trump has sent out several executive orders that directly affect immigrants and the elimination of the federal diversity programs.
With all the uncertainty around the future, students are becoming nervous about what resources will be taken away from them. Television and digital media junior Aimee Reynoso Cupido expressed concern.
Born and raised in Mexico, Reynoso Cupido came to Ferris on a student visa to practice news television. She was planning on finding a good news media position using her degree that would cover her stay in America.
Reynoso Cupido was originally planning on staying after college and applying for a work visa.
“[The new executive orders] make me not want to stay here after I graduate,” Reynoso Cupido said. “Even before Trump won, I was receiving racist comments from people and the way I’m treated is different.”
Reynoso Cupido spoke up about how she doesn’t exactly fit in with other Mexican students on campus who were born here. She has always felt like an outsider because they know more English.
Even though she’s found support in her tennis team, considering most of the team are also on student visas, some comments haven’t gone unnoticed. Reynoso Cupido mentioned a close friend who called her slurs and a drug dealer.
“[My friend said] America is going to be great again without us and I [didn’t know how to react] because we were supposed to be friends,” Reynoso Cupido said.
Campus support can be found in the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance. Only three years old, FMLA is filling the gap for feminist student organizations on campus since the National Organization for Women became inactive due to COVID-19. Vice President of the FMLA Jamie Kocks advocates for more students to attend events and find support within the organization.
“The main goal of the organization is to teach that feminism is for everyone,” Kocks said. “We’re a safe space. We try to offer help [by] giving resources and being a resource [for students] to come in and talk.”
Support at this time is the main focus of FMLA following the new executive orders. With talk of adding more support group meetings and mentioning other campus resources to students, such as the Anti-Violence Alliance.
FMLA is already starting to see anxious students who are looking for support.
“We’ve had members who will text and [say,] ‘Hey, I don’t know how to handle this right now.’ I read [the texts,] and it’s sad what it’s doing to people,” Kocks said.
The e-board of the FMLA is facing a lot of emotions, similar to their members. The group believes that compassion must be shown at this time, even if the events happening aren’t affecting us at the moment. Especially while there are so many questions waiting to be answered.
Unfortunately, the FMLA doesn’t have answers for what the future could look like for diversity organizations on campus. All organizations at this time have been told not to panic about the new executive orders and instead wait them out until the public knows more.
Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion and Strategic Initiatives Dr. David Pilgrim is encouraging students to stop by his office with any concerns regarding the new executive orders.
“We are closely monitoring the issuance of new executive orders related to diversity, equity and inclusion. At this time, we have not received formal guidance from the federal government regarding their potential impact on our programs,” Pilgrim said. “Given the evolving nature of these policies, it would be premature to speculate on any changes.”
At this time, the future could look like moving forward for students and staff is unknown. As more information about these new executive orders reaches the public, preparations will have to be taken. Until then, students and staff are encouraged to reach out to support organizations on and outside of campus during these uncertain times.