By Nick Escalada
The interim period between the 2024 U.S. Presidential election day and Donald Trump’s official inauguration came on Monday, Jan. 20. At Cal Poly Humboldt, students and faculty alike have been expressing their strong opinions on this polarizing transfer of power from the very first day of classes. When campus reopened after the MLK Day of Service, which coincidentally lined up with the day of the inauguration, students gathered for a pro-Palestine march of resistance that put the University Police Department and the incoming Trump administration under the microscope.
Buildings were once again plastered with profanities and paint balloon explosions while hallways echoed with the now familiar drumming and chanting, but the crowd seemed charged with a fresher anger that one could only assume hailed from events of the previous day. Members of the protest shared a common sentiment of frustration and demoralization paired with insightful commentary on their motivations for taking action.
Haley, an environmental science major, indicated her bleak expectations for the incoming administration while maintaining an air of hope as a dissident. “Generally [the next four years] seem not great, but I, like everyone here, came together to fight and protest [Trump]. Will anyone in power listen to it? Probably not, but we could still make it known that this is not a popular opinion amongst people.”
Other students shared their concerns about particular policy decisions Trump promised to make in his second term. Ryan, a former biology major, declared his apprehensions.
“There’s a lot of things to be concerned about,” Ryan said. “A lot of dangers of accelerated political repression, anti-LGBT legislation, of accelerated ecological destruction.”
Ryan also shed light on the Georgia State Police’s killing of environmentalist Tortuguita, which was a major component of the march and an instance of police brutality he projects will be repeated under this new administration.
“This represents the fact that these multiple state governments are willing to spend such vast amounts of money and resources to push through these unpopular projects, demonstrates that they are actually scared of the power of popular, and that’s a very heartening thing, even if it’s awful.”
A natural resources student who goes by Skunk describes why he protests the new establishment through the march and beyond.
“The thing about this struggle is that you won’t care about it until it affects you personally, but by then it’s too late if you don’t speak up for the people who are being affected,” Skunk said. “I want to because I have a passion inside. But the thing is, if you don’t have anywhere to get it out, it can kill you — it can eat you inside. So, I want to inspire my fellow students and our communities like a ripple in a pond. I want the people who have been feeling unmoved by this to get out here and do something with us, because otherwise, nothing’s gonna happen.”
“I expect that in the first 100 days of the new administration, President Trump will attempt to govern, in his words, ‘bigly,’” Dr. Stephanie Burkhalter, Cal Poly Humboldt political science professor, said. “He will concentrate on defining himself as the tough and decisive leader that America needs and wants. He has signaled to his populist supporters that he is willing to nominate loyalists to key positions in government leadership regardless of their lack of expertise or governing experience. Most of all, Trump seems driven to be perceived as meeting the expectations of his supporters and as competent in handling big issues that the country faces — whether or not that is truly the case. In this way he is like other politicians.”
Meanwhile, Professor John M. Meyer shared the disconcerting changes he noticed between the start of Trump’s 2016 term and his current one.
“The new administration is much more prepared to exercise power and opponents are much less visible,” Meyer said. “The administration is already taking advantage of this to initiate numerous executive orders on immigration, climate change, and foreign policy. I expect much more in the coming days. A goal is to overwhelm the opposition in order to maximize their impact. The immediate dangers are greatest for the most vulnerable among us, including people in the US without legal status, trans youth, and many others.”
These accounts may prove that the coming years could spell a dark time for many of us at Humboldt. However, those educated and impassioned about the policy issues that are now on the chopping block recognize that a future with positive change is still possible. A prominent bit of rhetoric against President Trump is that he is a threat to our very democracy, but it is uplifting to see that most people hold faith in that same democracy to ease the fears his administration now stirs. If anything, what has transpired on our campus in the past year should stand as an example of how changes of any magnitude can be made if enough people care.
Nick Escalada is a sophomore at Cal Poly Humboldt majoring in wildlife conservation and management and minoring in journalism. He is thrilled to be spending his first semester on the Lumberjack team as a reporter, and is always on the lookout for a nature-related scoop. On his off days, you can find him hiking in the Arcata Community Forest, chilling on the beach, or grabbing a burrito downtown.
Be First to Comment