American students "hold their breath" after a series of moves on education by President Trump

(Dan Tri) - Faced with a series ofeducational decrees over the past month by President Trump such as budget cuts and a ban on "diversity, equity and inclusion", American students are confused and have had different reactions.

Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has issued many new decrees related to education, including many controversial decrees such as cutting operating budgets, human resources to abolish the US Department of Education, cutting research grants, banning "diversity, equity and inclusion" (DEI)...

Previously, during his election campaign, Mr. Trump emphasized that he would eliminate DEI programs that, according to him, were disguised as "diversity, equity and inclusion" leading to discrimination and giving opportunities based on skin color, gender,... instead of ability.

Students at some American universities are quite worried about the recent education-related decrees of the US Government (Photo: AU).

Not only university leaders and lecturers, but also students are extremely confused about the sudden changes in education policy. Because these new decrees not only affect future jobs and academic dreams but also directly affect learning and financial issues before graduation.

In response to this series of executive orders, Parker, an AU student and editorial writer for the campus student newspaper, wrote an article calling on the university leadership to take clear action on President Donald Trump's executive orders, especially protecting students from the effects of the orders.

A few days after the post, AU President Jonathan Alger himself spoke up to explain more clearly about the school's upcoming direction, and at the same time declared that he would do everything to support students who are least negatively affected by the Government's decrees, and at the same time clearly stated that he would ensure support resources for students in general and international students in particular.

At some other universities, small-scale student protests have taken place, such as at Missouri State University, where 50 students held a protest regarding the DEI ban.

At Stanford University, a group of about 15 students took part in a chalkboard protest, writing protest messages on several streets on campus.

Students chose to react in a rather gentle manner compared to the previous loud protests (Photo: JL).

Meanwhile, Professor Angus Johnston of Hostos Community College said that students at the school received Mr. Trump's new decree quite peacefully.

According to the professor, this school and many other educational institutions have issued new regulations, tightening the time, location and method students are allowed to protest, so not many student protests are organized on campus.

Aron Ali-McClory, co-president of a student organization, also admitted that although there are different views on the White House's decree, university regulations are the main factor that makes protests rarely take place publicly on campuses today.

Most of the activities no longer carry the slogan "Let's go out and protest", instead, students are discussing "how do we achieve concrete results when everything is against us".

At the same time, while the impact on students has not yet occurred immediately, students at many universities said they continue to "hold their breath" and wait and see how the situation develops before having a clearer response to ensure their own future jobs and finances.

At the management level, the leadership of many universities in the US have also joined hands to "adapt to the times".

AU has temporarily closed its DEI office and removed DEI-related content from its website. Other universities, including Northeastern and Boston, have also changed their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion offices.

Federally funded DEI-related projects at Arizona State University were abruptly shut down due to concerns about violating the administration’s ban on DEI initiatives. Even at the University of North Carolina, any project containing the terms “diversity, equity, and inclusion” was not allowed to continue.

At the same time, facing the risk of having their government funding cut, schools are trying to find other sources of funding and are starting to "tighten their belts" so that research work is not interrupted midway.

Bui Thuy

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/sinh-vien-my-nin-tho-sau-loat-dong-thai-ve-giao-duc-cua-tong-thong-trump-20250312215229818.htm